Jun Hoong’s fate in Fina’s hands

DIVER Cheong Jun Hoong will know tomorrow whether she will have any chance of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Fina are looking for a new host for the World Cup after deciding not to hold it in Japan on April 18-23.

The world body had cancelled the World Cup in Tokyo as the organisers could not guarantee the safety of the participants.

The biggest fear is that Fina may scrap the World Cup altogether and award qualification slots based on the results from the 2019 World Championships, which was the last major competition before the Covid-19 pandemic took the world by storm last year.

If that is the case, Jun Hoong, who has been out of action since knee surgery in 2018, will see her Tokyo Olympics crushed outright.

Former national coach Yang Zhuliang, who has been training the former world champion since 2019, believes that such a move would be an injustice to the divers.

“I hope they can bring the World Cup to another country where everyone goes through the same screening process upon arrival,” said Zhuliang.

“It would be unfair for the divers who didn’t participate in the 2019 world meet if Fina were to opt for that option.

“Jun Hoong did not participate in the 2019 edition as she was recovering from surgery, and the North Korean team, who are also world-class divers, also did not participate.

“Fina will have a meeting on Tuesday, and I hope something good comes out of it.”

Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Wendy Ng and Nur Dhabitah Sabri are the four Malaysian divers who have booked their Olympic spots.