Diving Is No Plaything For Tze Liang

HO LEE CHING   http://www.sports247.my/2012/12/diving-is-no-play-for-tze-liang/

Ooi Tze Liang

“I WAS eight when my father came up to me one day and asked if I wanted to ‘play’ this sport called diving. Of course, as a kid, when I heard the word ‘play’, I got excited and said yes,” said national diver Ooi Tze Liang.

His father then signed him up for diving lessons at the Penang International Sports Arena. Tze Liang, however, had never heard of or seen diving before. He had no clue of what he was getting into and had to find out the hard way.

“At training, I suddenly realised my father’s ‘play’ meant jumping off springboards! But I was so nervous to jump off them. I still remember how scary it was standing at the edge of the springboard for the very first time. It was the lowest springboard but I was still scared,” said the 19-year-old.

Tze Liang recalls the adrenaline rush and noted that it was also challenging at the same time.

“I still am scared whenever I try out new diving tricks and techniques; the first time is always scary, but you get used to it. I also figured that focusing forward and not looking down helped.”

Generally, Tze Liang loves doing all his dives, including the hard ones. Without hesitance, Tze Liang noted: “The reverse dives are definitely my favourite. Yet, they are not my best. I still have a lot to work on with those dives.”

Tze Liang took part in his first tournament at nine where he ended up last. In his second tournament the same year, he finished 11th out of 25 participants.

Interestingly, after only a year of diving lessons, Tze Liang already knew he wanted diving to be part of his life.

“I knew I enjoyed diving a lot and I knew I had some potential in the sport. I also knew that I could be a good diver.”

Tze Liang’s unwavering belief in himself took him to greater heights.

In 2004, at age 11, he represented Penang in his first Sukma in Negri Sembilan where he finished 7th. His second Sukma in 006 in Kedah earned him his first Sukma gold medal which led him to join the Bukit Jalil Sports School the following year.

To date, the Penangite’s greatest achievements are the silver medal in the 10m platform synchronised event with Bryan Nickson Lomas at the 2010 Asian Games, and two silver medals at the recent Asian Swimming Championships at Dubai. He came in second in both the men’s 3m springboard and the men’s 3m synchronised event with Chew YiWei.

As a schooling teenager, Tze Liang openly admits, “I have not been very good with my studies since I was young. But diving gives me the opportunity to turn my life around. It is something I can be good at and it is how I would want to make my living in the future. So no matter what, I will find a way to make it.”

Even though Tze Liang failed to make a cut for the 2012 London Olympics, he is determined to work harder to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.