Diver Ken Nee Hopes To Exit With A Splash At The 2012 Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR: Yeoh Ken Nee will call an end to a glittering diving career next year. And he hopes to make his final plunge at the London Olympics.

Ken Nee has been a part of the national diving set-up for nearly 20 years, which is one of the longest stints among top athletes in the country. And he feels that time is coming up for him to bow out next year, irrespective of whether he qualifies for the Olympics or not.
Ken Nee, who will be 28 on April 30, is one of the four divers in the National Sports Council’s (NSC) Road to London programme.

The others are Bryan Nickson Lomas, Leong Mun Yee and Commonwealth Games champion Pandelela Rinong.

”My first attempt to qualify for the Olympics will be in the world championships in Shanghai in July,” he said.

“I will get in if I make the top 12 final in the men’s springboard. If I fail there, I will have to wait for the World Cup in London in February next year.

“If I don’t qualify for the Olympics, it’s goodbye by March. If I make the grade, I will stay on and train until August. It is my hope to make it after missing out on the last one in Beijing (2008)

“Nineteen years in diving is enough for me. I am thinking of going into coaching after I quit competition.”

Ken Nee started representing the country when he was only 12 at the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai and went on to chalk up some historic achievements.

He was the first Malaysian diver to win a world junior championship medal in Calgary in 2000 with a silver in the 10m platform.

Ken Nee was also the first Malaysian male diver to win a SEA Games gold medal – in Brunei in 1999. And he has never failed to deliver at least one in subsequent editions.

Ken Nee has also never failed to contribute medals in three editions of the Asian Games from 2002.

He was also the first Malaysian diver to bag a Commonwealth Games medal, a silver in the 1m springboard in Melbourne in 2006.

Ken Nee will be competing in the United States and Canadian legs of the Diving Grand Prix next month.

He can still finish his career on a high as Ken Nee is aiming to be ready with a more complex technical routine come the world championships in July.

“My difficulties have been raised to make them on par with China’s Qin Kai, who is currently the best springboard diver in the world,” he said.

“But the challenge is for me to achieve his kind of consistency. If I can pull it off, getting into the London Olympics should not be a problem.”