The honour of winning the first gold medal at the 2021 SEA Games belonged to Malaysia after national diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri finished first in the women's individual one-metre springboard event on Sunday.

The 31st edition of the regional multi-sport event unofficially kicked off on Friday with beach handball and football action, but diving was the first sport to offer medal chances.

The 22-year-old, who was also Malaysia's official flag-bearer in Hanoi, lived up to her pre-tournament favourite tag immediately with 57.60 points on the first dive, more than any other diver at the My Dinh Aquatics Centre.

She collected 290.45 points in total to bag her fifth SEA Games gold medal overall since making her debut in 2013.

19-year-old compatriot Kimberly Bong made it a one-two finish for Malaysia with 230.0 points, with Vietnam's Ngo Phuong Mai (224.0 points) joining them on the podium.

The national diving contingent later continued its strong start with Ooi Tze Liang-Chew Yi Wei beating Vietnamese pair Nguyen Tung Duong-Phuong The Anh to defend their men's synchronised three-metre springboard gold medal they won in the Philippines three years ago.

Diving is one of Malaysia's dominant sports, which also saw them sweep all gold medals in two of the last three SEA Games, and is expected to contribute heavily to the country's 36-gold medal target.