After a stunning performance in the FINA Diving World Cup in Brazil recently, the Malaysian diving squad definitely have a bright chance to excel and bring home a medal in the upcoming Rio Olympics this August.
The squad managed to secure eight slots in the prestigious event with three courtesy of Cheong Jun Hoong in the 3m springboard, 3m synchronized springboard and 10m synchronized platform.
Diving ace Pandelela Rinong will also be joining the bandwagon of qualifiers alongside Wendy Ng and Nur Dhabitah Sabri whom presented a sterling outcome in the women’s section. Ooi Tze Liang is the only male representative of the nation and will be scheduled to compete in two events.
Head coach Yang Zhuliang claimed that the women’s squad put on a stellar display in the championship and was not at all discouraged competing against their powerful opponent China.
He also suggested that Malaysia could be on the run for a podium finish in the 10m platform with the help of Pandelela and Jun Hoong.
“The women’s squad definitely showed a good performance and outstanding quality recently and I believe that the 10m platform will be the place for us to bring home a medal,” he said as quoted from Utusan.
“We also have a shot in bagging another slot in the Olympics through Ahmad Amsyar Azman but we will have to wait for the results from the International Swimming Federation (FINA). Currently, he’s ranked no.24 and there still are empty slots to be filled in.”
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