KUALA LUMPUR: The unheralded combination of Gabriel Gilbert Daim and Syafiq Puteh rose to the occasion as they delivered an unexpected silver medal in the men's 3m springboard synchro event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham today.
The focus was on their more experienced counterparts in Ooi Tze Liang and Chew Yiwei to deliver a medal but they performed poorly in the five-pair event at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre.
Competing in their second Games, Gabriel-Syafiq garnered 376.77 points to take the silver behind England's Anthony Harding-Jack Laugher, who posted 438.33.
Australia's Samuel Fricker-Li Shixin took the bronze with 374.52.
It was certainly a spectacular showing by Gabriel-Syafiq, who finished seventh in this event at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.
They had a slow start and were only placed fourth after the opening two dives.
But the pair splashed to a strong 73.80 in their third attempt and continued to deliver consistency to pip the Australians to the silver.
In contrast, Tze Liang-Yiwei only had themselves to blame after splashing out of the medal contention.
They were second after four dives but delivered a poor 40.59 in their fifth attempt to tumble down the standings before finishing with a total of 366.09 for fifth place.
Gabriel-Syafiq's achievement certainly brought smiles back to the national diving squad after Pandelela Rinong finished out of the medals in the women's 10m platform individual event on Thursday.