A DIVE INTO JUN HOONG’S PAST AND FUTURE
World diving champion and Olympic silver medallist Cheong Jun Hoong talks to Fadhli Ishak on her past, present and future
I started diving at the age of nine. A coach from China came to my primary school, SRJK (C) Yuk Choy in Ipoh. She was trying to find some kids to teach them diving.
At first, my parents just sent me there (for diving lessons) to make friends and exercise. I had previously been a swimmer.
I did not really think of diving seriously at first, I was just having fun. But then I got to know the sport better and it took off from there.
I joined Bukit Jalil Sports School when I was 13, and went straight to Form Two as I had done PTS (Penilaian Tahap Satu) previously.
I admire the British diver, Tom Daley. Locally, I think everyone (of the top national divers) has different characters and strengths which I can learn from.
My life is actually pretty much the same. Once in a while, people recognised me and asked to take a picture with me. As far as I am concerned, I am still the same person, I am not that famous. I am just a normal human being.
Although I won the world championship, the next competition is still a new start. I still have to start from zero points again, and I do not think it gives me any advantage.
I think it has been a successful year for me. But there were a few ups and downs because at the start of the year I had a back injury and I was forced to miss two legs of the world series.
I am slowly getting back into training. I still feel uncomfortable. Recovery has been a bit slow for me... maybe because I am ageing (she will be 28 next year).
I have a disc bulge and a stress fracture, which is due to overtraining. It is inevitable that an athlete will get injured sooner or later.
It will not go away even if I stop training. It will be there for the rest of my life. I have to learn to manage it and do the necessary rehab.
I could have surgery but it is not really necessary at this point. It does keep me up a night once in a while but it has not restricted my movement for now.
I am hoping my back won't be as painful as it is now. The most important thing for me is to be in good condition physically, so I can continue my journey in diving.
I hope to win more medals at the Games which is what every athlete dreams of. I will definitely try my best to do so and I would love it if I could repeat what I did in Budapest. I will also be competing in the World Cup and World Series next year.
I think they are both very talented divers. I hope they have the determination to achieve what they want in the sport. My advice to them is to train well and try not to get injured.
They can approach their state teams to get started and if they love it, then just keep doing it.