COACH DEFENDS JUN HOONG

Zhuliang slams critics’ allegations and invites them to attend her training sessions

CO ACH Yang Zhuliangh as slammed critics who claim diver Cheong Jun Hoong has not progressed in training due to an old injury.

The critics, from the aquatics fraternity, claimed that the diver has not executed dives from the 10m height since returning to training under former national coach Zhuliang.

They have also accused Zhuliang of sharing old videos of Jun Hoong’s training sessions to authorities.

When asked whether these allegations were true, an unhappy Zhuliang sarcastically told Timesport that he will invite them to attend Jun Hoong’s training sessions in Bukit Jalil soon.

Jun Hoong underwent knee surgery a year after winning the women’s 10m platform gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest.

Her main goal is next year’s World Cup, which offers Olympic qualifying spots.

“I am not sure what the critics are trying to imply. Did world record holder Usain Bolt train on the track for the 100 metres daily when he won Olympics gold medals?

“I believe he did not. The same goes to other established athletes. It is common sense. I am shocked that the critics, who have been involved in aquatics for a long time, are raising this matter.

“She trains alone under my supervision. “Nobody comes and watches her train, so I am puzzled how they have come up with nonsense.

“They are welcome to come over and watch Jun Hoong’s training sessions. I will make sure she jumps off the 10m platform countless times to prove a point.”

The coach, however, admitted that she is now only training from the 5m and 7m heights as the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March had affected her progress.

“Every athlete goes through a regime. They start by fine-tuning the basics before progressing to tougher routines, especially after a long layoff.

“Jun Hoong was executing routines from the 10m platform when she was training in China until early March this year.

“Things were going great, but the MCO kicked in and affected her programme.

“When training was allowed again, she started from the 1m and 3m boards, and now she has progressed accordingly to the 5m and 7m platforms.

“Jun Hoong will start training from 10 metres in four to eight weeks.”

On whether she had aggravated an old injury, Zhuliang claimed she is fit and training well.

“Injuries are common in this sport. Most do not recover fully from injuries,” he added.