YOUNG Pandelela Rinong made her entry into the national senior squad only three years ago but she has now emerged as the brightest gem in Malaysian diving.
The impish-looking Pandelela put up a magnificent show in the women’s 10m platform final on Monday to push world-class Australian divers Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak into second and third placings respectively.
It looked as though Pandelela would again play the bridesmaid role a two silver medal-winning effort at the the Youth Olympics in Singapore in August. But she made sure the Negaraku would be heard for the first time at a Commonwealth Games aquatics competition venue after notching a final attempt of 81.60, which was the highest score of the day.
Magnificent: Gold medallist Pandelela Rinong in action during the 10m platform event in New Delhi on Monday. Pandelela, who also took silver with Leong Mun Yee in the synchronised event the previous day, was the attention of the foreign media, who wanted to get her comments and her background after the medals ceremony.
The 17-year-old Sarawakian obliged and when asked on her future plans, Pandelela said that she hoped to continue to be good in what she was doing.
“I still have to improve further if I want to challenge consistently against the top divers. It’s a lot of hard work and I even missed quite a lot of school time whenever big competitions came up,” she said.
In fact, Pandelela will not be getting any break after the Delhi Games. She will have to return to China for training immediately to get ready for the Guangzhou Asian Games next month.
On whom she would dedicate her medals, Pandelela was quick to give the credit to not only her parents but also her coaches, including Yang Zhuliang.
“My parents encouraged me to accept the offer to come to Kuala Lumpur to join the national training programme after I was talent-spotted at the state level,” she said.
“I also want to thank my coaches for their support. They are under a lot of pressure too whenever they see me dive ... they help me by always asking me not to give up.”
And what does she intend to do with the RM100,000 reward that she has now earned from the government for the two medals?
“I will spend it on buying presents for Christmas. I miss my family but I will be seeing them after I come back from the Asian Games,” said Pandelela, who hails from Bau, a small town near Kuching.
There is still the 3m springboard competition today for Pandelela but she is not pinning strong hopes on getting another medal.
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