Bryan Earns Malaysia Another Spot In 2012 London Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR: Bryan Nickson Lomas was down in the dumps after failing to retain his sterling record of always reaching the 10m platform individual final, and thus missing out on qualification for the Olympics, at the World Championships in Shang­hai two months ago.

But the Sarawakian was grinning from ear to ear yesterday after earning Malaysia’s fourth Olympic spot in his pet discipline on the final day of the FINA Diving Asian Cup at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

It is also the 21-year-old’s second personal Olympic berth, having achieved his first in the 3m springboard individual at the world meet.

Bryan effortlessly won the gold medal in the absence of the Chinese back-up divers as he led from start-to-finish to post 480.50 points ahead of compatriot Ooi Tze Liang (450.80). Indonesia’s Mohd Nasrullah (396.20) took the bronze.

Graceful plunge: Malaysia’s Bryan Nickson Lomas performing his routine during the men’s 10m platform final at the FINA Diving Asian Cup yesterday. — GLENN GUAN / The Star

Seasoned campaigners Yeoh Ken Nee and Pandelela Rinong are the other Malaysian Olympic qualifiers in diving in the individual men’s 3m springboard and women’s 10m platform respectively.

Bryan was delighted that he got his act right to realise a third straight appearance at the Olym­pics in London next year.

“I felt relaxed after my coach informed me that China’s divers had withdrawn before the competition began.

“It would have been more difficult with them around as only the winner goes through as the continental champion,” he said.

Now that he is more mature and experienced, the former world junior champion is hoping to fight for a medal after uninspiring performances at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olym­pics.

“I do not want to just make up the numbers this time. My goal is to fight for a medal but, to do that, I’ll need to attempt greater difficulty levels and also improve on my entries,” said Bryan, who shone against a world-class field to bag bronze medals at the Asian and Commonwealth Games last year.

“A diver needs to collect more than 500 points to have a chance of fighting for a medal at the Olympics.

“I have not scored that high before but I hope to work towards that for the Olympics next year,” added Bryan.

His next target is to qualify for the 3m springboard synchronised event with Ken Nee in next February’s World Cup in London, which will be the final Olympic qualifying meet.

China, represented by their second stringers, emerged overall winners of the Asian Cup with a haul of seven gold and five silver medals, followed by Malaysia (3-5-4). Indonesia and Singapore took home two bronze medals each.

Results

Men

10m platform: 1. Bryan Nickson Lomas (Mas) 480.50, 2. Ooi Tze Liang (Mas) 450.80, 3. Mohd Nasrullah (Ina) 396.20.

Women

3m springboard: 1. Zhang Jun (Chn) 338.15, 2. Jia Dongjin (Chn) 336.30, 3. Cheong Jun Hoong (Mas) 310.45.

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.

Two swimmers And Two Divers Selected For Youth Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday 8 June 2010 (Bernama) -- The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) has selected two swimmers and two divers to represent the country at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore from 14 to 26 August.

ASUM secretary Edwin Chong said Ooi Tze Liang and Pandelela Rinong would compete in women's diving events while Kevin Lim and Lai Wei Li would spearhead the country's challenge in swimming events.

"Since this is the first time we are taking part in the Youth Olympics, it is difficult to set a target. However,the ASUM hopes are on FINA World Cup bronze medal winner Pandelela," Edwin told Bernama here today.

Pandelela created history at the FINA World Championships in Rome last year in the 10m platform synchronized event, partnering Leong Mun Yee to bag the bronze for Malaysia's first-ever medal in world championships.

Ooi won a silver medal in the 3m springboard synchronized diving at the Asian Age Group championships in Tokyo last year while Kevin was part of the quartet comprising Foo Jian Beng, Daniel Bego, Kevin Yeap, who won a bronze medal in the Laos SEA Games in December last year.

Lai is the winner of a gold medal in the women's 800m freestyle event at the South-East Asian Age Group Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil last year.

Edwin said all four were selected based on their performances and rankings in FINA.

MySinchew 2010-06-08

A Break For Bryan

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Seasoned diver Ross­harisham Roslan is out of the Commonwealth and Asian Games later this year.

And Sarawakian Bryan Nickson Lomas is set to benefit from Ross­harisham’s absence as the replacement diver for his event.

Rossharisham partnered Ken Nee to deliver an Asiad silver medal in the men’s 3m springboard synchronised final in Doha four years ago and he also made the World Championships final in Rome last year.

However, Rossharisham was forced to skip the Laos SEA Games last December as he had to undergo surgery on his left knee.

Despite having returned to training recently, coach Yang Zhuliang is not convinced with his form and does not want to risk including him in the squad for the two Games.

The Commonwealth Games will be held in New Delhi in October and the Asiad in Guangzhou, China, in November.

This will be the second time that Rossharisham will be missing the Commonwealth Games.
He was in the squad as Ken Nee’s partner for the Melbourne Games in 2006 but had to watch from the stands after his team-mate came down with fever the day after bagging silver in the 1m springboard competition.

Ken Nee subsequently pulled out from the 3m springboard and synchronised competitions.
Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong confirmed yesterday that Rossharisham was not in the list of entries to be submitted to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) for both the Games.

“We paired Bryan with Ken Nee at the Asian championships in China just before the Laos SEA Games and they did well to win the silver medal. They went on to clinch the SEA Games gold medal and they have been doing well in training since,” said Edwin.

“Rossharisham is back now but he needs to recover most of his dives if he is to partner Ken Nee again. The coach feels that it will better for Ken Nee to stick with Bryan as there is not much time left.

“Bryan has also reached the same standards as Ken Nee in the springboard and we feel they have a good shot at grabbing a medal at both the Games.”

It will be taxing for Bryan and Ken Nee at both the Games as they will have to prepare for four separate events.

Bryan will have to concentrate on the 10m platform while Ken Nee is focusing on the 1m and 3m springboard individual.

The duo are currently undergoing training with other senior divers in China for the FINA World Cup to be held in Changzhou from June 2-6.

The other male divers in the squad for the biennial meet are Mohd Fakhrul and Ooi Tzer Liang while the women divers are Leong Mun Yee, Pandelela Rinong, Traisy Vivien and Wendy Ng Yan Yee.

Hii And Five Others Not Sure of Spots In Youth Olympics

PETALING JAYA: Sarawakian Hii Siew Siew, who was named the outstanding female swimmer in the national schools (MSSM) championships in Shah Alam last week, will have to wait along with five others to find out whether they will be on the plane to Singapore for the Youth Olympics.

Siew Siew, who hails from Sibu, beat the qualifying standards for the 100m and 200m butterfly events in the inaugural Games, which will be held from Aug 14-26, for swimmers between the ages of 16 and17-years-old.

Siew Siew smashed eight-year-old MSSM records in the 100m and 200m butterfly held by Cindy Ong in her first outing in the 16-18 age-group to show that she is on track to deliver a double for Sarawak in Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Malacca in June.

The other female swimmers who have surpassed the qualifying marks are Sabah’s Lai Wei Li (200m and 400m freestyle), Perak’s Cheng Karmen (200m individual medley and 200m backstroke) and Johor’s Low Xue Ting (100m freestyle).

Wei Li, who bagged nine gold medals in the MSSM last week, is incidentally coached by former international Lim Keng Liat, who is the chef-de-mission of the Malaysian contingent for the Youth Olympics.

Malaysia have two male swimmers who have beaten the qualifying marks – Penangite James Chen (100m freestyle) and Perakian Kevin Yeap (200m and 400m freestyle).

The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary, Edwin Chong, said that those who had beaten the qualifying times were still not assured of getting to compete in the Games.
“There is a cap of 400 competitors for swimming and those who have beaten the qualifying times will be listed based on their rankings,” he said.

“The qualifying period ends on March 31 and the last championships for our swimmers to beat the marks were the national age-group in Bukit Jalil two weeks ago.

“We have to wait for FINA to come up with the list of swimmers who will get to compete in the Games. But we can be assured of having at least one male and one female swimmer.”
Sarawak also have one of their own in aquatics with Pandelela Rinong down for the diving competitions in the 10m platform and 3m springboard events.

Pandelela made the Games in style by taking gold in the 10m platform and silver in the 3m springboard in the qualifiers in Guadalajara, Mexico, recently.
The male representative for diving is Penangite Ooi Tze Liang, who also made the cut for both individual events.