KUALA LUMPUR: “Don’t ever regret your decision in pursuing diving – but remember, it won’t always be easy.”
Those were the words of former Sarawak women’s diver, Victory Emmy, 39, to her daughter and rookie national diver, Eilisha Rania Abrial Rajagopal.
Eilisha was seven years young when she embraced the challenge by Victory, without knowing what the future holds for her in the diving scene.
“It all started when I was chosen to become a diver at my primary school. My mum and coach asked me, are you really into diving? I said yes,” she said when met at the 58th Malaysia Invitational Age Group (MIAG) Diving Championships, here.
From then on, the 17-year-old athlete went on a roller coaster ride as she unwaveringly tries to establish herself as a national diver.
Apart from her mum, Eilisha said she was grateful for her father, Abrial Rajagopal, 43, who she described as her pillar of strength.
The Kuching-born diver revealed that she almost gave up once, but it was her father who pushed her to keep going.
“I almost withdrew from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in 2016, but my father pushed me to compete and I never thought that I could win two medals in my first appearance there,” she said.
Eilisha, who represented Sarawak in Sukma 2016, won bronze in the women’s 10m platform, followed by gold in the women’s 10m synchronised platform with another national diver, Kimberly Bong.
After making a comeback from a knee injury in 2021, Eilisha is now raring to create a splash in the pool again.
As such, she hopes to take home the gold medal in the women’s 10m platform at the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“My preparation for Cambodia is currently at 80 per cent. I hope I can do well in my SEA Games debut,” she said, adding that she aspires to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, United States of America. – BERNAMA
