Keep the flag flying
Divers Pandelela and Mun Yee eyeing another medal in Beijing
KUALA LUMPUR: Divers Pandelela Rinong and Leong Mun Yee aim to keep the Malaysian flag flying in the second leg of the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing starting tomorrow.
The duo, who are the only Malaysians to qualify for the prestigious four-leg series, flew straight to Beijing after a hugely successful outing in the opener in Dubai over the weekend.
Only the top eight divers and the top ranked seven pairs based on the world rankings are invited to compete in the series, which offers prize money.
Pandelela staged a great comeback to bag a bronze in the 10m platform individual and partnered Mun Yee to a silver in the synchro the following day.
It was the first time the country had earned two medals in a Diving World Series leg. Their performances also augur well for their quest to land a first-ever Olympic medal at the London Games this August.
Pandelela and Mun Yee will also be boosted by the presence of their head coach Yang Zhuliang, who takes over from Huang Qiang for the Beijing round.
Zhuliang hurt his back while training the divers on a harness in Bukit Jalil recently and had to delegate the coaching duties to Huang Qiang for the Dubai round.
Zhuliang said it would be a good achievement for the divers to get another medal at the Water Cube Aquatic Centre in Beijing.
“Pandelela-mun Yee won a silver medal in the Beijing round last year and we will try to repeat that,” said Zhuliang.
“China’s current world champions Chen Ruolin-wang Hao should win the gold again as they are too good for the rest at the moment.
“Our fight is with Canada, Britain, Germany, Ukraine and Mexico for the other medals.
“Pandelela-mun Yee are still not consistent. That is why we need more training to get their routines right before the Olympics.
“They don’t get the chance to work on the synchro at home and the few extra days of training in Beijing will be good for them.”
The divers have to stand apart on different platforms at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil whereas the boards used in major international competitions for the synchro are wide enough to accommodate two together.
“We didn’t set any target for them as they had just finished the World Cup campaign like everyone else. Their scores are good but still not good enough to challenge China at the moment,” said Zhuliang.
The third and fourth legs are at Moscow (April 13-14) and Tijuana, Mexico, (April 2021) respectively.