The 19-year-old, better known as the elder brother of Olympic-bound Pandelela Rinong, recently qualified for his first world-class final in the men's 10m platform at the recent World University Games in Shenzhen, suggesting bigger things to come from the Universiti Putra Malaysia student.
"I managed to be a lot more consistent and mentally focused throughout the competition and it paid off for me," said Pardika.
"It felt great to have made my first final in a top-level event and it certainly gives me more confidence to do well in the future," added Pardika, who earned praise from national diving coach Yang Zhuliang for his performance.
Pardika, who has been diving since he was eight, said he has never felt the pressure of having to match the accomplishments of Pandelela, who won three medals at the Universiade, or fellow Sarawakian Bryan Nickson Lomas, but was instead more focused on improving the difficulty level of his dives.
"She (Pandelela) has always been supportive of me and we always try to look out and keep each other motivated.
"I am proud of what she has been able to achieve and despite being her older brother, I am looking to follow in her footsteps,"
"Bryan, being two years older than me, is also someone I look up to and I hope to be as good as him when I am his age.
"My priority at the moment is to keep working hard in training and improve the difficulty level of my dives as that will determine how far I can go in my career as a diver.
"When competing in a world-class event, even a 500 score is not enough to guarantee a podium finish when it comes to a top class event," added Pardika.
While Bryan, Pandelela and Leong Mun Yee have the lofty heights of the Diving World Cup to look forward to, Pardika is hoping to clinch himself a spot in the Indonesia Sea Games squad later this year.
Read more: Pardika bides his time http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/ne21r231/Article#ixzz1X2pzec8D
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