The two-time Olympic medallist (one silver, one bronze) said the decision was made after careful consideration, as the injury would prevent her from competing safely or being at her best.

“I’m truly grateful for all the kind messages and concern for my wellbeing. I promise to take better care of my body as I focus on healing and prepare for the next opportunity to represent Malaysia,” Bernama reported her as saying in a Facebook post.

Pandelela, 32, said she would continue to cheer on her fellow teammates in Singapore.

“Please join me in sending them our support, luck and prayers as they continue to compete for Malaysia,” she said.

On Monday, Pandelela was competing with Lee Yiat Qing in the 10m platform synchronised event when she had to withdraw after two dives because of the injury, which she sustained earlier this month.

Lee, 17, failed to advance to the 10m platform semi-finals after finishing outside the top 18 in the preliminaries at the OCBC Aquatic Centre today. She finished 29th with a total of 240.20 points after five dives.

National swimmers Khiew Hoe Yean and Tan Khai Xin also failed to advance in their respective events.

Khiew, a two-time SEA Games gold medallist, clocked 50.77s in the men’s 100m freestyle to finish seventh in his heat and 50th out of 110 swimmers, while Tan clocked 2m 7.07s in the men’s 200m medley to end up ninth in his heat and 40th overall.