Jun Hoong determined to grab Olympic ticket
FORMER world champion Cheong Jun Hoong may not have dived competitively for two years. But it will not stop her from trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics through next month’s World Cup.
The World Cup, scheduled on April 18-23 in Tokyo, is the final Olympic qualifying event.
The 30-year-old is determined to show up with the perfect execution that saw her claim the world title in the women’s 10m platform individual event in 2017.
However, she was sidelined for two years following knee surgery in 2018.
Coach Yang Zhuliang is confident she can regain the form of old whilst performing the same set of dives.
“We do not have much time to try out new routines as she had to recover her dives first after returning from injury,” said Zhuliang.
“On top of that, she could not train in the pool regularly because of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
“She is focusing on polishing her old routines ahead of the World Cup. The mission is to qualify for the Olympics first.”
So far, only Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Wendy Ng and Nur Dhabitah Sabri have qualified for the Olympics. Kng Zheng Guan
giants Sri Pahang FC could be battling for survival in the Super League following back-to-back opening defeats this season.
Pahang had hoped to make amends against Perak at Darulmakmur Stadium in Kuantan on Wednesday following their opening 3-1 defeat to Selangor last week.
However, Thomas Dooley’s side were wasteful inside their opponent’s penalty box as they fell 2-0 to Perak.
After failing to garner any points from their opening matches, Dooley is now a worried man.
He hopes to rectify their weaknesses before they face Melaka at the Hang Jebat Stadium tomorrow.
“We do not want to be in this situation early on. However, I told my team that I was still satisfied tonight (Wednesday).
“I think we played well. We were well-organised in trying to create chances, but unfortunately, we could not convert them.
“Apart from the two soft goals we had conceded, we were not taking our chances,” he said after the match.
J. Partiban (43rd minute) and Farhan Roslan (59th) scored to help Perak earn their first win of the season.
Dooley said he will drill his players accordingly to get them ready for the next game.
“I want the players to be aware and learn to make better decisions in matches. I believe all weaknesses can be overcome, and this team have quality players, who can continue to progress this season,” Dooley added.
Perak coach Chong Yee Fat said he was happy with his team’s ability to execute instructions for the win.
“We did not expect a win over Sri Pahang. However, we came with a positive attitude and were very focused during the match.
“I reminded my players that opportunities do not often come, and when opponents make mistakes, they must capitalise and score goals,” he said.