Pandelela Qualifies For 10m Platform Final And Books Tticket To The Olympics

SHANGHAI: The big grin on her face said it all as Pandelela Rinong climbed out of the pool after her fifth and final dive at the World Championships here yesterday.

The diminutive lass finished fourth in the 10m platform semi-finals to claim a ticket to next year’s London Olympics. Pandelela also earned a placed in today’s final at the Oriental Sports Centre.

The top 12 divers from the semi-finals all qualified for the Olympics and Pandelela made a splash by registering 348.70 points to become the first Malaysian diver to qualify straight from the worlds.

Chinese diver Hu Yadan put up a stunning performance in the last three dives to qualify for the final on top of the heap with 403.65 points. Olympic champion Chen Ruolin, also of China, was second with a 385.95 total while defending world champion Paola Espinosa of Mexico finished third on 366.65.

Earlier in the preliminaries, Pandelela had qualified for the top 18 semi-finals in fifth spot with a 330.70 total ahead of Espinosa.

Trasie Vivien, the other Malaysian representative, also made it in 16th spot after accumulating 274.85 points. Trasie, however, failed to progress after she ended up in 14th spot with a 294.35 total.

Pandelela could have ended up higher in the semi-finals if not for an erratic performance in the third dive – a 2½ somersault with a half twist on a difficulty of 3.2. Her difficulty level matched the two Chinese divers and the Mexican but the problem was that the reigning Commonwealth Games champion did not execute her attempt cleanly.

Graceful: The Malaysian synchronised swimming team in action during the preliminary round of the team free routine event at the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai yesterday. – AZMAN GHANI / The Star

Pandelela, who was lying in second spot going into the third dive, only scored 57.60 while the Mexican pulled off a clean dive to chalk up 82.50 points.

Pandelela disappointingly dropped to fifth. But to her credit, she hauled herself up into fourth spot immediately after that.

The 18-year-old was delighted to qualify on merit for the Olympics for the second time.

”It’s better this time as I qualified straight through the World Championships for the first time. I was not nervous as I was optimistic I can make it,” said Pandelela.

With the Olympic berth in the bag, Pandelela’s goal now is win a historic medal for Malaysia.

“I have yet to complete my mission. I will try to win a medal tomorrow,” said Pandelela.

“The third dive is still my weakest routine as I only learned it while training in Dali before coming here.

“Mentally, I have to be strong. I believe I can do it,” added Pandelela.

Aquatics: Pandelela To Fight The Pain

PAIN in her lower back will not stop diver Pandelela Rinong from trying to earn Malaysia's first Olympic ticket in today's women's 10-metre platform individual at the World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai.

Pandelela is not at her best after injuring her lower back in training but the 18-year-old is determined to go all the way in her pet event.

The diver was almost in tears on Monday when she and Leong Mun Yee could only finish sixth in the 10m platform discipline after failing to execute a perfect dive in their fourth attempt.

Pandelela's focus today will be to clinch an Olympic place.

"My target is to earn my place into next year's London Olympic Games. It will be tough to get a medal as my condition is not so good. I can't execute certain moves to earn high points," said Pandelela when contacted in Shanghai yesterday.

Only the 12 finalists in the individual 3m springboard and 10m platform in Shanghai qualify for next year's Olympic Games.

Pandelela, who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has been making headlines in the 10m platform individual event over the past three years.

She won gold medals in last year's New Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Singapore Youth Olympics before claiming a bronze behind China's divers in the Guangzhou Asian Games.

Pandelela also made a breakthrough in March in the FINA Diving World Series in Moscow by bagging a silver medal.

Read more: Aquatics: Pandelela to fight the pain http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/koklew_le/Article#ixzz1Sbvoplcq

Huang Qiang Wants To Compete In The Olympics For Malaysia

SHANGHAI: Malaysia’s hopes of bagging a first-ever Olympic medal in diving in London next year may materialise if former top Chinese diver Huang Qiang gets to make a planned return to competition.

Huang Qiang, who is currently at the world championships here as coach of the Malaysian team, received his Malaysian citizenship recently. Now, he is looking forward to realise his dream of competing in the Olympics for his newly-adopted country.

Huang Qiang was a former China national diving champion and won the Asian Games silver medal in Bangkok in 1998 when he was only 16. He won the World Cup title twice and was a strong gold medal contender for China at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the platform discipline. An unexpected injury, however, squashed his hopes. He was then partnering Tian Liang and they were unbeatable in the world.

Welcome aboard: National diving coach Huang Qiang (centre) sharing a light moment with his charges (from left) Wendy Ng, Ooi Tze Liang, Pandelela Rinong and Trasie Vivien after a training session at the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai yesterday. – AZMAN GHANI / The Star

Following the injury, Huang Qiang turned to coaching. He was later signed up as a coach of the Malaysian elite squad.

He has since settled down with a Malaysian two years ago.

Edwin Chong, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) secretary, said they have made an application to FINA, world’s swimming body, to allow Huang Qiang to represent Malaysia.

“He is now a citizen of the country. He can represent Malaysia as he has not competed for China for some time.

“But Huang Qiang has to wait for nine months under the FINA ruling before he can take part in a competition as a Malaysian,” added Edwin.

Huang Qiang is 29 and he is expected to focus on the springboard discipline.

However, Malaysia will first need to get a quota spot for the country at the Olympics.

Malaysia can make a bid to qualify through the ongoing world championships here. If they fail, they can make another attempt at the World Cup in London next February. There are more slots available at the World Cup compared to the world championships.

Huang Qiang has been quietly training on his own for a few months.

“It has always been my dream to compete at the Olympics,” he said.

“I was very close to being an Olympian. I had to pull out just before the Olympics started after an injury. I was already in the Games Village at that time. It was a sad moment for me.

“Yang Jinghui replaced me as Tian Liang’s partner for the platform synchro and they won the gold. I want to give it a try but first, Malaysia have to win a quota place in the Olympics.”

One Bad Dive Dashes Mun Yee-Pandelela’s Hopes Of A Bronze Medal Finish

SHANGHAI: All it took was just one bad dive to kill diving duo Leong Mun Yee-Pandelela Rinong’s hopes of defending their World Cham­pionships medal for Malaysia at the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai yesterday.

A medal in the women’s 10m synchro platform was still in sight for the Malaysian pair as they were fifth with two more dives to go and with just five points separating them and the two higher ranked teams – Germany’s Cristin Steuer-Nora Subschinski and Australia’s Melissa Wu-Alexandra Croak.

But the dumbfounded expression on the face of the Malaysian coach Yang Zhuliang said it all as Pandelela-Mun Yee made a big splash upon entry on their fourth dive.

They only earned 57.60 points and tumbled down to ninth position with a deficit of nearly 20 points to catch.

They managed to improve with their fifth and final dive, chalking up 75.84 points but it was too late as their hopes of qualifying early for the London Olympics next year had diminished by then.

Down we go: Malaysia’s Pandelela Rinong (left) and Leong Mun Yee diving during the women’s 10m synchro platform final at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Shanghai. — AP

Pandelela-Mun Yee eventually placed sixth out of the 12 pairs in the final with 305.34 points behind Ukraine’s Viktoriya Potyekhina-Yulia Prokopchuk (311.64) and England’s Tonia Couch-Sarah Barrow (314.52).

China’s reigning Olympic champions Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao were in a class of their own as they romped to the gold with 362.58 points ahead of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games gold medallists Croak-Melissa, who managed 325.92 points.

The German duo of Steuer-Subschinski nailed the final Olympic ticket and the bronze medal with 316.29 points.

Pandelela-Mun Yee, who claimed a historic bronze at the last world meet in Rome two years ago, had qualified sixth with 289.50 points in the preliminaries earlier.

Pandelela had arrived in Shanghai from a one-month training stint in Dali with a sore back but but refused to use that as an excuse.

“I am not fully fit but it’s not the reason.

“We mis-timed our steps in the fourth dive – which was a three-and- a-half somersault.

“We could not control our rotation and the entry was not clean.

“That cost us a lot as we only got five and six when we needed to score seven and eight to stay in the fight.

“I’m disappointed not to be able to fight for a medal but I know we are still on track to qualify for the Olympics next year,” said Pandelela, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 10m platform individual.

There will be four more Olympic spots to be decided at the World Cup in London next February and this does not include the host country England.

Pandelela will shift her focus to the individual discipline tomorrow where she hopes to reach the top-12 final to qualify on merit for the Olympics.

Aquatics: Mun Yee-Pandelela Miss Out On Early Olympic Berth

A DISASTROUS fourth dive ended Leong Mun Yee and Pandelela Rinong's Olympic dream in the women's 10-metre platform synchronised at the World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai yesterday.

Mun Yee-Pandelela were fifth after three dives but a poor 50.60 points in their fourth attempt saw them drop to ninth. They eventually finished sixth with a combined total of 305.74 points.

"We could not control our rotation and thus did not make a clean entry in our fourth dive," said Pandelela via e-mail yesterday.

Pandelela said she had competed with a sore back.

"It affected my performance slightly. I could have done better if I was fully fit. We are both disappointed but we need to put this behind us for our remaining events," she added.

China's Wang Hoa-Chen Ruolin won the event with a 362.58 total ahead of Australia's Alexandra Croak-Melissa Wu (325.92) and Germany's Christin Steuer-Nora Subschinski (316.29).

Pandelela and Traisy Vivien will both continue Malaysia's quest of an early Olympic berth in the women's 10m platform tomorrow.

Read more: Aquatics: Mun Yee-Pandelela miss out on early Olympic berth http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/kopiopeel/Article#ixzz1SbwbrCmp

Eye-catching Swimsuits Herald Our Synchro Team’s Debut

SHANGHAI: The “football theme” swimsuits worn by the Malaysian synchronised swimming team heralded their debut on the World Championships stage at the Oriental Sports Centre yesterday.

The eight-member strong team of Lee Yhing Huey, Lee Zhien Huey, Emanuelle Mah, Tan May Mei, Mandy Yeap, Yeo Pei Ling, Shareen Png and Katrina Ann Hadi were not just decked in orange swimsuits with black stripes but with numbers sewn on their backs.

And Malaysia’s first participation in the team discipline provided good indications that they are on course to do well at the Palembang SEA Games later.

Malaysia ended as the best ranked in the region after the technical display, chalking 72.700 points for 20th spot.

They were ranked ahead of Thailand, who managed 67.400 to finish 21st while Indonesia and Singapore occupied 23rd and 24th spots respectively.

Thailand, Singapore and hosts Indonesia are seen as Malaysia’s biggest rivals as they have continued with the synchronised swimming programme despite it not being in the SEA Games roster for some time.

The team discipline was not in the programme when the sport was last contested at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 and Malaysia looked on course to do well if the results are any indication.

Chinese coach Long Yan, who handles the Bukit Jalil-based swimmers, said they had not participated in the discipline at a major stage for some time.

“The last time we took part in the team event was at the Doha Asian Games five years ago.

“We want to gauge where we stand, especially as the SEA Games will have synchronised swimming this time.”

Sore Back Could End Pandelela’s Hopes Of A Historic Dive

SHANGHAI: A sore back could derail platform diver Pandelela Rinong’s hopes of making history here with double qualification for the London Olympics.

Pandelela will take to the pool for the first time at Oriental Sports Centre here today, partnering seasoned diver Leong Mun Yee in a bid to defend the bronze medal they won in the previous World Championships in Rome two years ago in the women’s 10m synchronized platform.

The bronze medal earned in Rome at that time was the first ever for the country in aquatics and marked their emergence as world beaters.

But the stakes are higher this time as the world meet this time offers tickets to the London Olympics.

The top three pairs in the synchro disciplines and all the 12 finalists in the individual will make the cut early for the London Olympics.

However, head coach Yang Zhuliang is ruing the fact that Pandelela is now nursing a sore back.

“Her lower back is now troubling her.

“She can feel the pain when she dives during training when we arrived here early this week.

“She cannot apply the power when she dive. The team physiotherapist has been helping to treat her and I just pray she will be alright tomorrow.

“We have to see whether she can put up a good performance with Mun Yee in the synchro tomorrow,” said Zhuliang.

The Malaysian divers trained in Dali for the past one month before arriving in Shanghai for the world meet.

Zhuliang is hoping for the best from Pandelela, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, as she is perhaps the only diver with a shot at making history in Shanghai by earning two quota spots for the country in the platform category.

Pandelela stand a good chance to qualify for the individual 10m platform event as well this time.

The 18-year-old Sarawakian, the youngest athlete in the Road to London programme, etched her place in the history books at the last world meet by taking fifth place in the individual 10m platform final.

It was her first appearance at the world meet and she chalked the best ever finish by a Malaysian woman diver so far.

“She has a chance to make the final this time in the individual. But the competition is very, very tough as all the countries are also eyeing to qualify their divers for the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, Cheong Jun Hoong, the only Malaysian diver in action yesterday, finished 18th in the preliminaries of the women’s 1m springboard individual.

Jun Hoong still have the women’s 3m springboard to look to on Friday.

Synchronised Team Using World Meet To Gauge Ability

SHANGHAI: The synchronised swimming competition starting at the World Championships here today will be a good gauge to see whether Malaysia have what it takes to fight for a place in next year’s London Olympics.

Sukma (Malaysia Games) gold medallist Katrina Ann Hadi is down to perform in the solo technical preliminary in the morning today and will return to partner Shareen Png for the duet technical preliminary later in the day.

Katrina and Shareen will also compete in the team event with Lee Yhing Huey, Xyanne Lee, Emanuelle Mah Thil Da, Tan May Mei, Mandy Yeap, Yeo Pei Ling and Tasha Jane.

“Olympic places are not up for grabs here. There will be a qualification tournament in London in April next year. But we want to see how we perform here as the results will indicate where we stand,” said coach Long Yan, a Chinese in charge of the Bukit Jalil-based synchronised swimming squad.

He believes Malaysia’s best chance of making the grade for the Olympics lies in the duet discipline.

“The solo event is not contested in the Olympics but the duet and team disciplines are.

“We are still relatively new in the team competition compared to the established teams in Asia like Japan and China.

“But I believe we have a chance to prepare the duet pair to fight for a place in the Olympics if they perform well this week,” added Long Yan.

The synchronised swimmers are also using the championships to gauge their form ahead of the Indonesia SEA Games in November.

Synchronised swimming will make a return as a medal sport at the SEA Games after a decade-long absence. Five gold medals will be on offer in Palembang.

Malaysia made a clean sweep of the gold medals when the sport was last held in 2001.

Birthday Lass Wendy And Mun Yee Make 3m Synchronised Springboard Final

SHANGHAI: London Olympic-hopeful Wendy Ng Yan Yee kept her nerves in check to make a sweet World Championships debut with veteran Leong Mun Yee on the first day of the diving competition here yesterday.

Wendy, who celebrated her 18th birthday here last Monday, paired up with Mun Yee to qualify for the women’s 3m synchronised springboard final for the first time.

The Malaysian duo had a slow start in the preliminaries. They found themselves in 16th spot out of the 18-pair field after the first two dives.

Great show: Leong Mun Yee (left) and Wendy Ng in action during the women’s 3m synchronised springboard final at the World Championships in Shanghai yesterday. — AZMAN GHANI / The Star

A score of 81.20 in the third dive pushed the Malaysian pair up the rankings and they eventually booked their place in the final with a total of 254.40 points to finish 11th. Only the top 12 pairs advanced to the final.

Wendy-Mun Yee, the silver medallists in the same discipline at the Guangzhou Asian Games last November, went on to finish 10th in the final with a 264.60 total to keep their status as the second best pair in the Asia behind the formidable Chinese pair of He Zi-Wu Mingxia.

He Zi-Mingxia, who led from the start till the end of the five-dive competition, claimed the first gold medal of the championships with a total of 356.40 points. Canada’s Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel took the silver with 213.50 points, while Australian duo Anabelle Smith and Sharleen Stratton claimed third on 306.90 points.

Wendy was pleased with her performance, considering that she hardly trained together with Mun Yee.

“Mun Yee was focusing her preparation in the women’s 10m synchronised platform with Pandelela (Rinong). I was on my own most of the time concentrating on the individual springboard.

“I did not have high hopes of making a big impact in the 3m synchronised springboard as I seldom got to train together with Mun Yee.

“This is also the first time I’m diving at a world championships and it’s a bit unnerving.

“But it’s a good experience. Now, I hope to perform better in the 3m springboard individual,” said Wendy, who earned her way into the elite squad after she partnered Mun Yee to bag the SEA Games gold medal in Laos two years ago.

The Kuala Lumpur-born lass, who sat for her SPM exam last year, is now concentrating fully on diving in the hope of winning a ticket to next year’s Olympics.

“I hope to be ready to challenge strongly at the second qualifying tournament – the World Cup in London next year. There are 18 places on offer there. It is harder here as only the top 12 finalists gets to qualify for the Olympics. I’m happy if I can get into the top 18 semi-finals here,” added Wendy.

Cheong Jun Hoong will be the only Malaysian in the fray today. Jun Hoong will dive in the women’s 1m individual springboard, where she won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last year.

Malaysia look to Pandelela, Mun Yee to create splash in Shanghai

SHANGHAI: Malaysia are among the 191 countries competing in the World Swimming Championships, which begin here today, but it is only the divers who are capable of making a big splash.

At the last worlds in Rome two years ago, Pandelela Rinong-Leong Mun Yee plunged their way to a historic bronze medal in the women’s 10m platform synchronised.

Pandelela-Mun Yee have since proved it was no fluke as they went on to take the silver at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games last year. The duo also claimed a historic gold in the Germany leg of the FINA Diving Grand Prix Circuit in May.

Before coming into the worlds, the Malaysians spent a month training in China. But it is still going to be tough for Pandelela-Mun Yee as they will battle with top divers from China, the United States, Canada and Russia. The stakes are also high as Olympic spots are up for grabs.

The top three pairs from the synchronised events and all the 12 finalists in the individual 3m springboard and 10m platform will qualify for next year’s London Olympics.

Diving head coach Yang Zhuliang has excluded Mun Yee from the individual springboard to allow her to focus on putting up a strong performance with Pandelela in the 10m platform synchronised.

“The women’s 10m platform synchronised is our best chance to fight for a medal. It will create history as we have never qualified for the synchronised discipline in the Olympics. But it’s not easy as there are five or six pairs fighting for the top three spots here.

“I believe we will eventually qualify for the Olympics. But we want to grab a place as early as possible,” said Zhuliang.

If the Malaysians fail to grab their Olympic spots here, they will have to wait until the World Cup in London in February.

As for the individual disciplines, Zhuliang added the focus would be on helping the four seniors – Pandelela, Mun Yee, Yeoh Ken Nee and Bryan Nickson – qualify for the London Games.

The four will also be out to justify their inclusion under the Road to London programme after their sparkling performances at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games last year.

“These four divers have the best chances to make the final in their respective events. If any of the four can make it to the final, they are already assured of a place in the Olympics. It is better if we qualify early as we can work on fine tuning their dives and get them ready for the Games.”

Of the four, only Pandelela and Bryan have reached the final before. They achieved the feat in the platform event in Rome.

The Malaysian Team

DIVING (July 16-24)

Yeoh Ken Nee (men’s 3m springboard individual and synchronised).

Bryan Nickson Lomas (men’s 10m platform individual, 3m springboard synchronised).

Ooi Tze Liang (men’s 10m platform individual).

Pandelela Rinong (women’s 10m platform individual and synchronised).

Leong Mun Yee (women’s 3m springboard synchronised and 10m platform synchronised).

Wendy Ng Yan Yee (women’s 3m springboard individual and synchronised).

Trasie Vivien (women’s 10m platform individual).

Cheong Jun Hoong (women’s 1m and 3m springboard individual).

SWIMMING (July 24-31).

Khoo Cai Lin (women’s 400m freestyle).

Chan Kah Yan (women’s 50m backstroke).

Christina Loh (women’s 50m breaststroke).

Chui Lai Kwan (women’s 50m freestyle).

Kevin Yeap (men’s 800m freestyle).

n SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING (July 17-23)

Katrina Ann Hadi (solo, duet and team).

Shareen Png (duet and team).

Lee Yhing Huey (team), Xyanne Lee (team), Tan May Mei (team), Mandy Yeap (team), Yeo Pei Ling (team), Emanuelle Mah (team), Tasha Jane (team).

Aquatics: Fakhrul, Ahmad Dropped From Squad

BACK-UP divers Mohd Fakhrul Izzat and Ahmad Amsyar have been dropped from the national diving team bound for the World Aquatics Championships which starts tomorrow in Shanghai.

This means only eight divers, led by Yeoh Ken Nee and Pandelela Rinong, will be gunning for Olympic spots in the event.

Fakhrul and Ahmad, who were training with the squad for over a month in Dali, China, were both excluded by the National Sports Council (NSC).

Diving head coach Yang Zhuliang had planned to enter the duo for the men's 1m springboard individual and 3m springboard synchronised disciplines, but Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary Edwin Chong said NSC wanted the team to focus only on Olympic events.

NSC had already cut down the budget allocation for all sports under its programme this year by 30 percent.

"The world meet this year is one of the few Olympic qualifying events and the priority is to get our divers to qualify from here. The 1m springboard is not an Olympic event and we will probably not have any divers this time," said Chong "Fakhrul and Amsyar, however, will be considered for training stints in China as they need to prepare for the Indonesia Sea Games," Chong added.

The diving team to the World Championships comprise Bryan Nickson Lomas, Ken Nee, Ooi Tze Liang (men), Pandelela, Leong Mun Yee, Traise Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng Yan Yee (women).

The divers arrived in Shanghai two days ago and are scheduled to have three days of practice in the competition pool before the start of the Championships. "The three-day practice will allow them to get used to the outdoor pool. Everyone in the team is free from injuries," said Chong. Pandelela and Mun Yee made history when the duo took bronze in the women's 10m platform synchronised final at the last championships in Rome two years ago. It was the country's first World Championships medal in aquatics.

Pandelela also finished fifth in the 10m platform individual, the best ever placing by a Malaysian woman diver at a world meet.

Besides diving, Malaysia will be represented in swimming and synchronised swimming. The swimmers who made the cut this time are Khoo Cai Lin (women's 400m freestyle), Chan Kah Yan (women's 50m backstroke), Christina Loh (women's 50m breaststroke), Chui Lai Kwan (women's 50m freestyle) and Kevin Yeap (men's 800m freestyle).

The synchronised swimmers entered for the team discipline for the first time are Katrina Ann Hadi, Lee Yhing Huey, Xyanne Lee, Tan May Mei, Mandy Yeap, Yeo Pei Ling, Emanuelle Mah, Shareen Png and Tasha Jane.

Read more: Aquatics: Fakhrul, Ahmad dropped from squad http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/dibnasd/Article/index_html#ixzz1Sc0KmW8Z

Cost-cutting Exercise Makes Fakhrul And Amsyar Lose Place To World Aquatic Meet

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian diving team for the World Aquatic Championships starting in Shanghai tomorrow have been trimmed to eight members as back-up divers Mohd Fakhrul Izzat and Ahmad Amsyar became casualties of a cost-cutting exercise.

Laos SEA Games medallists Fakhrul and Amsyar were training together in Dali with the rest of the World Championships-bound squad for the past one month but are now back in Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur as they did not get the nod from the National Sports Council (NSC).

Diving head coach Yang Zhuliang had planned to enter the duo for the men’s 1m springboard individual as well as the 3m springboard synchronised events.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) secretary Edwin Chong said NSC wanted them to focus on the Olympic events instead.

“The World Championships this time is an Olympic qualifying event and the priority for the coach is to work on getting our divers to qualify from here.

“The 1m springboard is not an Olympic event and we will probably not have any divers this time. Fakhrul and Amsyar, however, will still benefit from the training in China as we have to get ready for the Indonesia SEA Games at the end of the year,” said Edwin.

The diving team for the world meet now consist of three men (Bryan Nickson Lomas, Yeoh Ken Nee and Ooi Tze Liang) and five women (Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Traise Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng Yan Yee).

The divers, accompanied by three coaches, arrived in Shanghai two days ago and are scheduled to have three days of practice in the competition pool.

“The coach did not report any injuries and they should have enough time to get themselves used to the outdoor pool.”

Pandelela and Mun Yee were the toast of the country when they made history with a bronze in the women’s 10m platform synchronised final at the last world championships in Rome two years ago. It was the country’s first medal in aquatics in the world championships.

Pandelela also finished fifth in the 10m platform individual, the best-ever placing by a Malaysian woman diver at the world championships.

Besides diving, Malaysia will be represented in swimming and synchronised swimming as well.

The swimmers who made the cut this time are Khoo Cai Lin (women’s 400m freestyle), Chan Kah Yan (women’s 50m backstroke), Christina Loh (women’s 50m breaststroke), Chui Lai Kwan (women’s 50m freestyle) and Kevin Yeap (men’s 800m freestyle).

The synchronised swimmers entered for the team discipline for the first time are Katrina Ann Hadi, Lee Yhing Huey, Xyanne Lee, Tan May Mei, Mandy Yeap, Yeo Pei Ling, Emanuelle Mah, Shareen Png and Tasha Jane.