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KUALA LUMPUR − A challenging task awaits the national diving squad as they aim to sweep all eight gold medals in the diving events at the Hanoi SEA Games, scheduled to take place from May 12-23.
The target was shared by the assistant coach of the squad, Datuk Leong Mun Yee, following the success of the national diving team in winning all four gold medals offered in the 2019 edition in the Philippines.
“In Vietnam, there are more events (compared to the 2019 edition) which is eight − our target is to get all eight gold medals,” she told reporters when met at the National Sports Awards (ASN) 2019/2020 ceremony here yesterday.
Mun Yee, who will officially start her job as assistant coach on April 1, feels that out of the eight events, the women’s 10m synchronised platform will be the least of their worries.
The 37-year-old former national diver, who announced her retirement at the end of last year, said that, so far, the national team’s preparations for the biennial Games were running smoothly.
The eight events that will be contested in Hanoi are the men’s and women’s 10m synchronised platform; 3m synchronised springboard for men and women; 3m men’s and women’s individual springboard and 1m men’s and women’s individual springboard.
Meanwhile, the ASN 2019/2020 ceremony saw Mun Yee and diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg, who had previously teamed up in the 10m synchronised platform, win the National Women’s Team award.
The success has fired up Pandelela’s spirit to continue working hard to achieve more encouraging results at the international level, even though she will be teaming up with a new partner following Mun Yee’s retirement.
“We (the new pairing) have started training together − so far everything is good − although the start was a bit slow because only now can we train full time,” said Pandelela.
Prior to this, Malaysia Swimming secretary-general Mae Chan had announced that Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Kimberly Bong were the two names being considered to pair up with Pandelela.
The pairing of Pandelela and Nur Dhabitah in the 10m synchronised platform is not something new as they had previously won a bronze medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the fourth FINA World Diving Series in Windsor, Canada in 2017. − Bernama, March 23, 2022
