Pandelela Not In Peak Condition To Excel In Beijing

PETALING JAYA: Diver Pandelela Rinong’s back injury has flared up again and could hinder Malaysia’s chances of making another impact in the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing starting today.

Pandelela and Leong Mun Yee are the only Malaysians to qualify for the prestigious four-leg series and flew straight to Beijing after a hugely successful outing in the opener in Dubai last weekend.

Only the top eight divers and the top ranked seven pairs based on the world rankings are invited to compete in the series, which offers prize money.


Pandelela staged a great comeback to bag a bronze in the 10m platform individual and partnered Mun Yee to a silver in the synchro the following day in Dubai.

The pair also took silver in the 10m platform synchro in their first Diving World Series outing in Beijing but Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary Edwin Chong said Pandelela is not in peak condition.

“Her back is troubling her again. She had the same injury during the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010 but this time we don’t have a team masseur to assist us here,” said Edwin from Beijing.

“She is coping okay at the moment and still continuing with her training.

”She is using ice packs to control the pain after training.”

Pandelela will be in action in the preliminaries of the 10m platform individual in the morning at the Water Cube Aquatic Centre where she will bid to qualify for the final later in the evening.

The 19-year-old Pandelela, who has already qualified for the London Olympics in three events, has yet to miss out on the top six since her debut in the series last year.

Mun Yee said they can feel the pressure a bit after taking silver in the opening round in Dubai behind China’s reigning world champions Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao.

Malaysia can expect to fight it out with the likes of championships bronze medallist Christin Steuer-Nora Subschinki of Germany, Canadians Meaghan Benfeito-Roseline Filion, Mexicans Paola Espinosa-Alejandra Orozco and British pair Sarah Barrow-Tonia Couch, the bronze medallists at the World Cup in London last month.

”The synchro is the better bet for a medal but we are more concerned about maintaining our performance level towards the Olympics in July,” said Mun Yee.

The third and fourth legs are in Moscow (April 13-14) and Tijuana, Mexico, (April 20-21) respectively.