Pandelela Takes Painful Route To Silver

Pandelela Rinong (top) and Leong Mun Yee perform their routine en route to winning the silver in the synchro 10-metre platform at the Aoti Aquatics Centre yesterday.

IT was her first ever Asian Games appearance and a painful one at that but Pandelela Rinong will never trade her experience for anything.

She had to consume pain killers to mend her aching back but it was worth it as she and Leong Mun Yee teamed up to earn Malaysia the silver in the synchro 10-metre platform at the Aoti Aquatics Centre yesterday.

Bryan Nickson Lomas and Yeoh Ken Nee then earned Malaysia's second silver of the day, and fourth overall, in the synchro men's 3m springboard.

Pandelela had injured her back during centralised training in Dali, China, after last month's New Delhi Commonwealth Games and was not supposed to compete in the Asian Games.

But the 17-year-old was determined not to let the injury stop her from making her first Asian Games appearance.

"Yes, I took pain killers. I still feel the pain but it's bearable. However, we were not in our best form as we did not train much, due to my injury, in Dali," said Pandelela.

"In terms of performance, we did not execute what we were capable of doing as I did not want to aggravate my injury. We aimed for the top three and we have achieved it."

Mun Yee-Pandelela were placed only fifth in the opening dive after posting 47.40 points but took second position from the second dive onwards

The duo, who also won silver in New Delhi, recorded a combined score of 311.94 yesterday, 48 points behind China's gold medallists Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao, the Olympic champions. North Korea's Choe Kum Hui-Kim Un Hyung posted 284.64 for the bronze.

Mun Yee was also delighted to have won her second silver in the Asian Games. On Monday, she and Ng Yan Yee finished second in the synchro 3m springboard.

"We did not do anything difficult today (yesterday). But it is a big motivation for me to earn another silver on my second day here," said Mun Yee.



The 26-year-old Mun Yee will also compete in the 1m springboard (today) and 3m springboard (Friday) in Guangzhou.

In the men's synchro 3m springboard, Bryan-Ken Nee had to execute a near perfect dive on their last two attempts to clinch the silver medal.

The duo were placed second after three dives but a mistake in the fourth saw them drop to third.

However, they retained second position after posting 78.21 and 80.58 in their following attempts to post 404.85, 54.75 points behind China's Luo Yutong-Qin Kai.

South Korea's Park Jo Ho-Son Seong Chel posted 388.26 to take bronze.

The Malaysian divers will compete in the men's and women's 1m springboard today.

Read more: Pandelela takes painful route to silver http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/47perak/Article/#ixzz1aLYzSu5b

Sabahan Lai Kwan Makes The Only Splash For Malaysia

THE one and only Malaysian gold medal winner in Asian Games swimming history, Alex Lim Keng Liat, who won in 1988 in Bangkok, hailed from Sandakan.

And the timber-rich town in Sabah can be proud that they have another swimmer coming up the ranks in Chui Lai Kwan, who made the only splash for Malaysia at the Guangzhou Games yesterday when she made the final at the Aoti Aquatics Centre.

The 20-year-old Lai Kwan made the 50m freestyle final with the seventh fastest time of 26.21 to follow in the footsteps of Khoo Cai Lin.

Another Sabah swimmer, Leung Chii Lin, did not make the cut as she clocked the 13th fastest time of 26.97.

Cai Lin became the first woman in 24 years since Nurul Huda Abdullah qualified for an Asian Games final en route to taking fifth place in the 400m freestyle on Monday.

Lai Kwan had a good start but was not able to follow through in the final, which was won by China’s Lee Zhe Si in 24.97.

She lowered her time to 26.08 for seventh place and it was just off her national record of 26.03 set at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.

Lai Kwan made history as the first Malaysian woman to qualify for a Commonwealth Games swimming final then and her performances indicated that she is on the right track to shine in the short distance freestyle disciplines at the SEA Games in Indonesia next year.

Team manager Mae Chen said that making the final was already a fine achievement for Lai Kwan, considering the level of competition in Guangzhou.

“She did not break her national record but she was only behind the Chinese, South Korean and Japanese swimmers,” she said.

“Lai Kwan finished ahead of the rest from South-East Asia and we can hope for good things to come from her in the future.”

Daniel Bego posted 25.15 to finish 11th in the men’s 50m butterfly while 15-year-old Ian James Barr continued to improve by setting a personal best of 57.94 for 12th place in the men’s 100m backstroke.

In the men’s 400m freestyle, Kevin Yeap and Kevin Lim finished 10th (4:02.67) and 21st (4:13.93) respectively.

The 15-year-old female breaststrokers, Christina Loh and Erika Kong, were placed 12th (1:13.50) and 13th (1:13.79) in the 100m event yesterday while the men’s 4x100m freestyle quartet of Kevin Lim, Kevin Yeap, Daniel and Foo Jian Beng failed to qualify for the final, clocking 3:32.69 for 11th place.

Ian Aims To Be Better Than His Idol Keng Liat

Set for the Asiad: Malaysian aquatics team members Foo Jian Beng (left) and Christina Loh arriving in Guangzhou Tuesday.

FIFTEEN-year-old Ian James Barr has lofty ambitions – he wants to be a better backstroke swimmer than his idol, Olympian Lim Keng Liat.

The Form Three student of Methodist Boys School in Kuala Lumpur will be competing in six events in the Guangzhou Asian Games and three of them are backstroke events – 50m, 100m and 200m.

He will also feature in the 200m and 400m individual medleys and the 4x100m medley.

Ian, who will be making his Asiad debut, said that he wants to be a better swimmer than Keng Liat, who featured in three Olympics – Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004).

Sabahan Keng Liat became the first Malaysian to bag an Asiad gold medal when he won the 100m backstroke in Bangkok in 1998.

He also won a silver in the 200m backstroke. Keng Liat also made history when he became the first national swimmer to win the silver medal in the 50m backstroke in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where he also took the bronze medal in the 100m backstroke.

Keng Liat is now coaching his home state and he was also the chef-de-mission of the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in August.

Ian said that “Keng Liat has been a great inspiration to my swimming career.

“Keng Liat was a great backstroke swimmer who has done the country proud in the Commonwealth Games.

“I will train much harder to win honours in the Commonwealth Games and also in the Olympics in 2016,” said Ian, who will face a hectic schedule in Guangzhou.

The youngster will compete in six events in six days, sparking fears that it may take a toll on his performance.

But the youngster was cool about the whole thing.

“Although I will face a hectic schedule, I will still go all out to give my best in all the events,” said Ian, who made a great impact in his first Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.

“This is my first Asian Games and I will be more than happy if I can reach the semi-finals.

“Besides doing well in the backstroke events, I also hope to rewrite my own national record in the 200m individual medley.”

He clocked a personal best of 2:07.22 in New Delhi to break the 13-year-old national record of 2:07.80 set by Wan Azlan Abdullah at the 1997 Jakarta SEA Games.

Ian is among 12 swimmers who arrived in Guangzhou yesterday with coach Paul Birmingham of Australia.

The swimming competition starts on Saturday but Malaysia are not expected to win any medals.

ASUM Admit Divers Only In Race For The Lesser Medals

FOCUS ON DIVING

COMPETITION DATES: Nov 22-26
VENUE: Aoti Aquatics Centre
EVENTS
MEN: 1m springboard, 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m springboard synchronised, 10m platform synchronised.
WOMEN: 1m springboard, 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m springboard synchronised, 10m platform synchronised.
MEDALS AT STAKE: 10-10-10
TEAM MALAYSIA
MEN: Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Ooi Tze Liang, Mohd Fakhrul.
WOMEN: Leong Mun Yee, Pandelela Rinong, Wendy Ng Yan Yee, Traisy Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong.
COACHES: Yang Zhuliang, Lan Wei, Huang Qiang.
TEAM MANAGER: Siow Kian Wah.
MEDAL TARGET: Better the achievement in Doha.
PREVIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS: Busan 2002: 0-0-3 (Bronze: Yeoh Ken Nee – men’s 3m springboard, Yeoh Ken Nee-Rossharisham Roslan – men’s 3m springboard synchronised, Leong Mun Yee-Farah Begum Abdullah – women’s 3m springboard synchronised).
DOHA 2006: 0-1-3 (Silver: Yeoh Ken Nee- Rossharisham Roslan – men’s 3m springboard synchronised; Bronze: Elizabeth Jimie – women’s 1m springboard, Leong Mun Yee – women’s 3m springboard, Leong Mun Yee-Elizabeth Jimie – women’s 3m springboard synchronised).

DIVING has been one of the major success stories from the Jaya ‘98 programme as the divers have evolved from just making up the numbers at the SEA Games level to become medallists at the World Championships and, just recently, the Commonwealth Games.

(The Jaya ‘98 programme was initiated to bring success in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.)

The Malaysian diving squad will now be heading to Guangzhou seeking to establish themselves as the second best nation behind China at the Asian Games level.

The national divers may not be facing the likes of Australia, Britain and Canada, as was the case in New Delhi, but it still won’t be a stroll in cool Guangzhou either because they will be up against not just China but also divers from Japan and South Korea.

Pandelela Rinong heads for the Asian Games fresh from her historic gold medal feat in New Delhi, where she put to shame Australian Olympic medallists Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak with a come-from-behind win in the 10m platform individual final.

The Sarawakian youngster also bagged a silver with Leong Mun Yee in the 10m platform synchronised event and stands a good chance of delivering a double in her Asiad debut.

Yeoh Ken Nee and Bryan Nickson will be hoping to do likewise in the men’s competition, where they will be contending in the springboard and platform disciplines respectively. Ken Nee will also be hoping to defend the silver he won with Rossharisham Roslan in the 3m springboard synchronised event in Doha four years ago. But this time he will be partnering Bryan.

In Doha, Malaysia also bagged three bronze medals from the girls’ competition and the current squad should be aiming for a clutch of silvers.

That will still be an achievement indeed if the divers can pull it off, taking into account the high level of opposition in Guangzhou.

Seven out of China’s 35 Olympic champions set to grace the Asian Games are in the diving squad, who bagged seven of the eight gold medals at stake at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.

Diving star Guo Jinjing is the only one missing from the squad, who also clinched seven gold medals at the World Championships in Rome last year.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong admitted that “Malaysia are in the race for the lesser medals when it comes to diving at the Asian Games in Guangzhou”.

“The fact that the Chinese divers are competing on homeground makes it even harder as no judge will dare to mark them down,” claimed Edwin.

“The only way for another diver to win is if the Chinese opponent makes a big mistake.

“The problem is they are very consistent and hardly make mistakes as it could be the end of their hopes of competing at the next Olympics.

“As for our top divers, like Pandelela, Mun Yee, Bryan and Ken Nee, the best we can hope for is for them to split the two Chinese divers in the individual to earn a silver.

“It will be a great achievement and it will give us plenty to look forward to at the next Olympics in London in two years’ time.

“We took home four medals in Doha and we are optimistic of improving on the haul.

“Our divers have come a long way. We could not even fight for a bronze at the SEA Games level when the National Sports Council (NSC) helped us set up the diving programme back in 1994. But we have since dominated the sport at the regional level and taken it higher.

“The improvement is there for everyone to see compared to when we won our first diving medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.”

The national divers returned to China after the Commonwealth Games campaign and will head straight to Guangzhou.

Hopes High On Cai Lin To give Malaysia Big Lift In The Pool

Guangzhou on her mind: Khoo Cai Lin defied the odds to win the 400m freestyle gold at the Laos SEA Games in 2009.


SWIMMER Khoo Cai Lin tends to make a splash towards the end of the year – as evident from her two previous memorable SEA Games outings.

And she is hoping to make an even bigger splash at the Asian Games swimming competition in Guangzhou.

It was at the Korat SEA Games in December of 2007 that Cai Lin first made a big breakthrough by setting new meet records en route to sweeping the 400m and 800m freestyle titles.

The odds were against her in Laos two years later with the Singaporeans in top form but Cai Lin swam the race of her life to slash almost eight seconds off her own Games record in winning the 400m freestyle.

That impressive time of 4:10.75 earned her a place on merit for the Asian Games, beating the bronze-medal winning effort of 4:14.95 set at the last Asiad in Doha.

With multiple SEA Games gold medallist Siow Yi Ting skipping the Asian Games, expectations are high for Cai Lin to give Malaysia a big lift in the pool.

In Asian Games swimming, no Malaysian woman has managed to make the top eight final, let alone win a medal since Nurul Huda Abdullah won two silver and two bronze medals in Seoul in 1986.

The competition will no doubt be world class with the Chinese, South Koreans and Japanese swimmers in the spotlight but Cai Lin has promised to give her best to make a big breakthrough in her maiden Asian Games appearance.

“I’m compering in the 400m and 800m freestyles at the Asian Games aside from the freestyle relays,” said Cai Lin, who will turn 22 on Christmas Day.

“I did not do well at the Commonwealth Games in India last month as I was not feeling well before the start of the competition.

“It was just unfortunate but I have put it behind me and I now aim to prepare well for the Asian Games.

“I have no big injury problems and I will be happy to get into the top eight final.

“If I am in the final, it will be a good indication of my form and, hopefully, things turn out well.”

Cai Lin only entered for the 400m individual medley at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games but failed to advance to the top 16 semi-finals.

Cai Lin is not the only hope as Chui Lai Kwan may spring a surprise as well.

Lai Kwan made a big breakthrough when she set a new national record to qualify for the 50m freestyle final, becoming the first Malaysian woman swimmer to do so at a Commonwealth Games.

A place in the final in Guangzhou beckons for the Sandakan-born swimmer if she can dip below her personal best.

Things are not so great with the men, though.

At the Doha Asian Games four years ago, Daniel Bego made his debut while Alex Lim Keng Liat swam his last competitive race for the country.

Now, four years on, it is still uncertain whether Daniel can follow in the footsteps of Keng Liat as a medal contributor at the Asian Games level.

Daniel only started training after completing his A-level exams and he did not have a good outing in India.

The Asian Games will be a better yardstick for Daniel, who is expected to concentrate on the butterfly disciplines. But it will be a very tough proposition, with Olympic and World Championships medallists in the fray.

Divers, Swimmers Set Sights On Commonwealth Games And Asiad

King of the pool: Daniel Bego showing the five golds he won at the Laos SEA Games.