Malaysia diving coach Yang Zhuliang wishes that national divers, who have qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, will put aside their studies in favour of training, for now.
According to Zhuliang, the athletes have worked hard enough to make it through to the Olympics, which takes place once every four years. And it will be a waste if they lose focus now in preparation towards it.
“Getting the gold medal is not something impossible for our athletes, but they have to continue improving harder and learn from mistakes.”
“For example, the training sessions in China went well because all the athletes co-operated and gave enough concentration without being distracted with the environment.”
“One thing that worries me is the schedule for classes, which will be a distraction. Therefore, I suggest they forget about their studies in the mean time, just until Rio Olympics ends.”
“Take Lin Dan for instance. He is not a professor. Same goes to Lee Chong Wei. They excel in their fields because they are committed to their training sessions. The same thing happens in China. Whenever there is a big tournament coming up, they only focus on the training and it shows up in their performances, said Zhuliang, as quoted by Harian Metro.
“We have to start doing things which are proven by other successful countries such as England, China, United States and Russia. To be a champion is not an easy task.”
Two of national divers, Pandelela Rinong and Wendy Ng are the early birds who have confirmed their spot in Rio after a string of eye-catching performances at the recent World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
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