Ken Nee’s happily diving into his new role as a judge

FORMER diver Yeoh Ken Nee (pic) is back in Jakarta after 21 years – but not as an athlete.

The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallist is in the Indonesian capital as a judge.

It was in Jakarta where he made his SEA Games debut in 1997 with a bronze in the men’s 10m platform individual.

Ken Nee, who quit competitive diving after reaching the men’s 3m springboard final at the 2012 London Olympics, is one of the few Malaysians who are qualified to judge at a FINA-sanctioned international diving meet.

And he’s loving every moment of his experience from the high chair.

“I sat for the exams after the London Olympics as there were not enough judges for diving from the region. I’m still learning today,” said the 35-year-old.

Ken Nee will only know two hours before the start of the competition whether he is on diving duties for that particular day.

“There is a pool of judges and FINA implement this everyday to prevent the judges from manipulating the outcome of the competition.”

And he is not allowed to do one thing when the competition starts – to answer the call of nature as he is not allowed to leave the high chair.

“I’ve to make sure I eat the right food and clear my bladder before the competition starts. The preliminaries for a big event can last two hours if there is a big field of divers.”

As a judge, Ken Nee is trained to keep an eye on every single detail.

“A diver cannot take too long to perform his or her routine. They will be warned, followed by point deductions.

“We also look out for divers doing different routines from the sets they had submitted earlier. This will be recorded as a failed dive.”

From a diver to a judge – Ken Nee continues to make the nation proud.