Stay in sync
Pandelela-Jun Hoong the best hope for gold in 10m platform
PETALING JAYA: It is clear after the first two legs of the Diving World Series that Malaysia’s best chance to strike gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games next month lies in the women’s 10m platform synchro event and not the individual – unlike previously.
The pressure is on Pandelela Rinong-Cheong Jun Hoong to match the one-gold performance from the last two Commonwealth Games outings.
In the 2010 edition in New Delhi, India, Pandelela made history for Malaysia by winning the 10m platform individual event for the first-ever Commonwealth Games diving gold medal.
It was Ooi Tze Liang’s turn to shine in Glasgow, Scotland, four years later when he came out tops in the men’s 3m springboard individual competition.
Pandelela-Jun Hoong have shown their ability to deliver at the highest level by winning silver at the World Cup and Olympics in Rio two years ago.
The duo maintained their consistency by finishing with a bronze in the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year.
Pandelela-Jun Hoong stayed on top of their Commonwealth rivals with podium finishes from the first two legs of the Diving World Series.
They took silver behind China’s Zhang MinjieZhang Jiaqi in Beijing earlier this month.
Pandelela-Jun Hoong managed to win bronze behind North Koreans Kim Kuk-hyang-Kim Mi-rae and the Chinese pair in the just concluded second leg in Fuji, Japan, last week.
Pandelela felt they were on track to win the nation’s first diving gold medal in the synchro discipline.
“I feel that as long as we maintain our con- sistency, the chance (to strike gold) should be bright.
“But of course, other countries will have their own strategy and we shouldn’t keep our guard down,” said the Sarawakian, who has finished on the synchro podium at the last two Commonwealth Games.
She took silver with Leong Mun Yee in New Delhi and was a bronze medallist with Nur Dhabitah Sabri in Glasgow.
Besides Pandelela-Jun Hoong, Malaysia will also field Mun Yee-Dhabitah as the second pair for the women’s 10m platform synchro.
It will be much harder in the individual event for Pandelela and Jun Hoong despite their strong reputations after both failed to reach the top-six final in the 10m in the second leg of the Diving World Series in Beijing.
Jun Hoong is the reigning world champion from Budapest while Pandelela is the 2015 bronze medallist from Kazan, Russia, but judg-
I feel that as long as we maintain our consistency, the chance (to strike gold) should be bright. But of course, other countries will have their own strategy and we shouldn’t keep our guard down. Pandelela Rinong
ing from current performances, they will find it hard to beat the likes of Canadian Meaghan Benfeito and Australia’s Melissa Wu, the defending champion from Glasgow.
“Both Jun Hoong and Pandelela are not at their best condition as they’ve had injury issues. But the chance is still there as a lot depends on the performance on the day,” said acting head coach Zhang Yukun.
As for the men’s side, the best chance for a medal will be from Tze Liang-Chew Yiwei in the 3m springboard synchro event. Tze LiangYiwei took bronze in the event at the German Grand Prix in Rostock last month.