Australian successor identified

THE Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) have confirmed that an Australian will be replacing Yang Zhuliang as the new elite coach of the national diving team.

The new coach, who is said to be Christian Brooker, will arrive in Kuala Lumpur next month.

ASUM honorary secretary Mae Chen, who declined to reveal the identity of the coach, said the new trainer will incorporate sport science practices into the training programme as required by the National Sports Institute (NSI). NSI manage the high performance Podium Programme.

“For now we have our second coach Zhang Yukun to train the elite divers, but the Podium Programme already have a candidate to replace Zhuliang, who will be coming in January,” said Mae at the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

“This (coach) is confirmed already. I cannot reveal the name until we finalise the details, however, he is from Australia. He will be assisting (initially) Yukun when he comes in.”

Mae said Zhuliang, whose current contract runs out on Dec 31, has been offered a different role in the national setup.

“National Sports Council director general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail and ASUM have discussed his future and have offered him to do a development programme for the team.

“But we do not know, it is entirely up to him (Zhuliang),” she said.

Mae echoed NSI chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Zabidi’s statement yesterday that Zhuliang has not been receptive to modern training techniques.

“It is very unfortunate. We cannot deny that Zhuliang has been a very good coach who has done well to bring Malaysian diving to this level.

“ASUM really thank him for his contributions, from deep down we really appreciate what he has done, even more than words can describe. We achieved a lot together by learning to work with each other’s styles and also differences.

“But as we progress and look to the future we need to incorporate sports science methods in our training techniques, especially for our Podium Programme athletes.

“We want to bring in someone who can do that. He (Zhuliang) has not been receptive in that sense although we tried convincing him,” said Mae.

Mae said the team have been briefed on the changes that will take place and have received it positively.

“I was not there when coach (Zhuliang) broke the news to them but I saw them (diving team) two days ago in the afternoon and briefed them on the plans to move forward.

“They are looking forward to the new changes and new training environment. It should be good,” she added.

Zhuliang is the most successful coach in Malaysian aquatics.

Under his guidance, Malaysia have won four world championships medals, including Cheong Jun Hoong’s gold in Budapest this year.

He also guided Malaysia to a historic podium finish at the 2012 London Olympics as well as the Rio edition last year. Fadhli Ishak