SHAH ALAM, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- Sarawak's last-minute pairing of Awang Sharzan Nasrin Awang Nasaruddin-Elvis Priestley Clement produced a stunning final-dive comeback to clinch the men's 3 metre (m) synchronised springboard gold at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) Selangor 2026 here, today.
Awang Sharzan-Elvis, who had trailed in second place after five rounds, saved their best for last as they eclipsed and stunned Federal Territories' SEA Games gold medalists Nurqayyum Nazmi Mohamad Nazim-Yong Rui Jie to take the top spot at the Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre.
The Sarawak duo amassed 333.90 points, edging Nurqayyum-Rui Jie, who collected 331.11 points, while Selangor's Ikmal Abror Ibrahim-Muhammad Haris Mohd Rezal settled for bronze with 307.89 points.
Remarkably, the pair had been thrown together at the last minute after Elvis was originally scheduled to compete with Jared Aiden Harold before the latter was ruled out through injury.
The 19-year-old Elvis said he and Awang Sharzan previously had just one training session on Tuesday before they went on to claim gold.
"Today's performance was very satisfying for me and Awang because we were just synchcro for SUKMA this year. This may be our fortune and I am very grateful because the opportunity came at the right time," he told reporters.
Today's result was Elvis second gold after winning the men's 10m synchronised platform event with Jared yesterday and bronze in men's 3m springboard.
Despite trailing heading into the final round, Elvis said they remained fully focused on their last dive and refused to be distracted by the standings.
"We are just lucky because one of the Federal Territories divers (Rui Jie) is slightly injured. So we don't have to worry," he said.
Meanwhile, Awang Sharzan said the pairing was not entirely new, having previously dived together as children before being separated after entering the national setup.
"Actually it's not the first time. Because I used to do synchro as a child when I was 10 years old, but since joining the national team we've been separated," he said.
SUKMA Selangor 2026, which kicked off on Aug 15 will run until Aug 24.
-- BERNAMA