Coach Yang Zhuliang said they were not expecting the unexpected as the duo would be up against top notch competition.
“The divers from China, Canada and the US are the favourites and we are not really in their class,” he said.
“It will be tough going and we are hoping for the best.”
Yang sees the event more as a useful warmup for the divers.
“It will allow Pandelela and Jun Hoong to get a feel of the competition, which will help them in the individual event. It’s like testing the waters,” he said after the training session yesterday morning.
Yang feels Malaysia’s best medal hopes are in the women’s 10m individual platform and the men’s 3m.
“The China divers are the overwhelming favourites in every event. Only then come the others,” said Yang.
“Our divers have had a very good preparation. Let’s hope they can carry out their routines well enough to impress the judges.”
Pandelela is not putting herself under pressure by setting any targets other than to do her very best.
“The pool conditions are excellent and the divers shouldn’t face any problems,” she said.
“We are all eager to get into action as it will be easier to stay focused once we get started.”
Pandelela is down for the 3m springboard synchronised, 10m individual platform and 10m platform synchro.
Leong Mun Yee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Yeoh Ken Nee, Huang Qiang are also touted as medal prospects in their events.
But Yang wants his charges to simply dive to the best of the abilities and take it from there.
“They must let their performance speak for them. We know the capabilities of the others so it’s best that we concentrate on outperforming them wherever possible.”
Still, Yang is well aware that the challenge is all about beating the awesome Chinese who are looking for a clean sweep of the gold medals.
The others will realistically only have a chance if the China divers slip up or have a bad day.
But then sports is all about the unexpected.
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