JUN HOONG REVEALS WHAT GIVES HER THE SHIVERS IN GOLD COAST
Diver Jun Hoong fears the cold weather Down Under
PETALING JAYA: Diver Cheong Jun Hoong will go into the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with a big reputation.
But it will count for nothing as she looks to start from scratch when the four-day competition starts from April 11-14.
The 27-year-old, who has been dealing with injuries, has not been at her best since winning gold at the World Championships last year.
The Ipoh-born Jun Hoong has a lot to work on after she missed out on the final of the 10m platform event in the first two legs of the Diving World Series – Beijing, China, and Shizuoka, Japan – last month.
“The expectations are high but to me, every competition is the same. I always have to start from scratch in every competition,” said Jun Hoong.
“My results in the last two events showed that I still have a lot to work on.
“I believe there’s still a lot of room for improvement, especially in the individual event as I’m not quite there yet. I’m really taking it one step at a time and trying not to over-exert myself,” she said, adding that the biggest challenge would be the weather.
“I’m still not good dealing with cold. There’s a lot to overcome and it’s not as easy as people think”, added Jun Hoong.
But while Jun Hoong is struggling in the individual event, it is in the 10m platform synchro event that she has a chance to strike gold.
With her partner Pandelela Rinong, the pair are Olympic silver and World Championships bronze medallists.
They also took silver at the Beijing leg of the world series while finishing with a bronze in the Shizuoka leg.
And Malaysia, who won one gold in both the 2010 New Delhi and 2014 Glasgow Games, will surely be banking on Jun Hoong-Pandelela to deliver when the platform synchro starts on April 11.
Besides Jun Hoong-Pandelela, the other Malaysian pair participating are Leong Mun Yee-Nur Dhabitah Sabri.