SEA GAMES: Wendy-Mun Yee Retain Gold

FOCUSED: Boost ahead of 3m springboard individual

Leong Mun Yee (back) and Wendy Ng in action in the 3m springboard synchronised event at the Jakabaring Aquatic Stadium in Palembang yesterday. - Picture by HASAN ISMAIL

Leong Mun Yee (back) and Wendy Ng  in action in the 3m springboard synchronised event at the Jakabaring Aquatic Stadium in Palembang yesterday. -  Picture by HASAN ISMAILWENDY Ng received an early boost for  the 3-metre springboard individual discipline when she and partner Leong Mun Yee retained their synchro title at the Jakabaring Aquatic Centre yesterday.

 Wendy hopes to carry her form into tomorrow's 3m springboard individual where Malaysia's divers have failed to win since Mun Yee's triumph at the 2003 Vietnam edition.

   For the record, the 21-year-old has not won a major international individual title since switching from gymnastics to diving seven years ago and the Kuala Lumpur-born diver is determined to establish herself in Palembang.

   "We have somehow not won the 3m springboard individual event since 2003. Although we are the second best diving team in Asia, we have not established ourselves in this event," said Wendy yesterday.

   "It will also be my first individual appearance since making my debut in Laos, two years ago, and I hope to earn a good result but I would need to execute my dives well as divers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam have improved."

   Mun Yee-Wendy led from start to finish by scoring 48.00, 45.60, 69.30, 66.60 and 66.60 for a five-dive total of 296.10 points to finish ahead of Indonesia's Dewi Setyaningsih-Natalie Dinda (250.20).  Sheila Mae Perez-Ceseil Domeniosp of the Philippines finished third on 243.12.

   Wendy represented Kuala Lumpur in gymnastics in the Malaysia Games and also in international invitationals before switching to diving at 13.

   "I was invited by national coach Yang Zhuliang to try out diving after he spotted me at the Cheras Swimming Centre. One year after picking up the sport, I represented Malaysia in the Asian Age-Group Championships," said Wendy.    En route to winning the title yesterday, Mun Yee-Wendy were given a hostile reception by the Indonesian fans, who booed them when they were on the springboard for their first dive.

   But the Guangzhou Asian Games silver medallists remained focused to win the title.

   Mun Yee said she and Wendy were not intimidated by the jeering.

   "We expected it but were too focused on our event to realise what was happening," said the 27-year-old.

   Zhuliang said Mun Yee-Wendy did exceptionally well to retain their title.

   "Other countries have improved and so winning this title is a great achievement. Divers from Indonesia and the Philippines are trying new things and we must continue to improve in order to maintain our status as the best diving team in this region," said Zhuliang.

   Malaysia, who withdrew from yesterday's men's 10m platform synchro, are favourites in today's men's 3m springboard and women's 10m platform synchro.

Read more: SEA GAMES: Wendy-Mun Yee retain gold - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/sea-games-wendy-mun-yee-retain-gold-1.5680#ixzz1ddv700m4

Wendy And Mun Yee Vow To Defend SEA Games Gold

KUALA LUMPUR: National divers Wendy Ng Yan Yee and Leong Mun Yee are determined to defend their gold medal in the women’s 3m springboard synchronised diving event at the SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia, next month.

Wendy, 18, said she and Mun Yee would be paired again for the event and hoped to repeat their golden performance at the SEA Games in Laos in 2009.

“We will be in action together for the second time at the SEA Games and hope to do even better,” she said.

The duo, who are in training at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil, had also won the silver medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last year.

Wendy said Mun Yee was an experienced diver and had helped her a lot to improve her performance.

For the record, the national diving squad contributed the most number of medals – six gold, one silver and two bronze – to the national contingent at the Laos SEA Games. — Bernama

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.

Pandelela Pulls Out From 3M Springboard Event

NEW DELHI Oct 13 — Pandelela Rinong who clinched a gold medal in the Delhi Commonwealth Games Women”s 10m Platform at the Dr S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Complex on Monday, pulled out from the 3m Springboard event today.

Press attache to the Malaysian contingent, Mohd Rizal Mohd Radzi said the decision to pull Pandelela out of the event was made following her coach”s advice.

"Her coach Yang Zhuliang made the decision firstly because there is no medal potential for her in the event and secondly because she was not even listed to participate in it in the first place,” he told Bernama.

Another reason given was that the 17-year-old girl from Sarawak, who won silver medals in the women”s 10m platform and 3m springboard at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics last month, has the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China next month to compete.

"So basically, he is saving her for the Asian Games and does not want her to suffer from any injury,” said Mohd Rizal.

Pandelela, sprained her neck a week before leaving for Singapore and competed though she was not completely fit.

Apart from the gold medal, Pandelela Rinong also won the silver along with her partner, Leong Mun Yee, in the Women”s 10m Synchro Platform.

Pandelela qualified for the final with 255.20 points before pulling out.

The task of getting a medal was then left to Ng Yan Yee to shoulder.

However, Yan Yee failed to match the Australian and Canadian divers who were supreme in the event.

She only managed to finish in eighth spot after accumulating 290.15 points.
Sharleen Stratton of Australia won the gold with 376.00 points, Jennifer Abel of Canada the silver (338.55 points) and another Aussie, Jaele Patrick the bronze (326.15 points). — BERNAMA

Bryan Signs Off With Bronze

Bryan Nickson Lomas performs his routine in the 10m platform final at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex yesterday.

THE presence of the reigning Olympic and world champions brought the best out of Bryan Nickson Lomas as the Malaysian took the 10m platform bronze at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex yesterday.

England's world champion Tom Daley and Australia's Beijing Olympics gold medallist Matthew Mitcham were awesome names in the field but Bryan, who won the 3m synchro springboard bronze with Yeoh Ken Nee on Tuesday, held his own as he denied the rest of the 11-man field.In fact, silver was within reach but Bryan's final dive scored only 72.00, which allowed Mitcham to pull ahead for second place.

The Malaysian, however, can take pride in the fact that his fifth dive, which scored 98.05, was the highest of the night.

"Daley and Mitcham are simply too good but I am proud to have won this medal, especially as this was a really tough field," said Bryan, 20.Bryan scored a total 487.15 for the bronze while Daley was the runaway winner with 538.35. Mitcham scored 509.15 for the silver. Malaysia's other representative Ooi Tze Liang finished seventh with 411.15.

Bryan was third after his first dive but the second dive, which scored a mere 64.35, left him on the backfoot as Daley and Mitcham were consistently scoring in the high 80s.In the end, the difference between them and Bryan was their consistency but with age on his side, the sky is the limit for Bryan and he can look forward to the Asian Games next month with hope.In the women's 3m springboard, Ng Yan Yee finished eighth but for the diving squad, the pool at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex proved lucky for them as they ended their campaign with one gold, one silver and two bronze.

Bryan Reaps Another Bronze Among World-Class Rivals

HIS preparations in the lead-up to the Delhi Games were not all smooth but Bryan Nickson Lomas (pic) can walk tall after claiming the bronze medal in the 10m platform men’s individual event at the Dr S.P. Mukherjee Sports Complex last night.

The bronze was a high quality medal as he finished behind two divers regarded as the best in the high board discipline, reigning world champion Tom Daley of England and reigning Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham of Australia.

The 16-year-old Daley produced an extraordinary performance on his last dive to garner 94.05 to pip Mitcham to clinch his first Commonwealth Games platform gold medal.

Daley finished on 538.35 and Mitcham chalked up 509.15.

The 20-year-old Bryan leapt to bronze medal position after the first two jumps and held on to finish the six-dive routine on 487.15.

He even earned a 98.05 for his fifth dive, which turned out to be the highest ever awarded for the 10m platform discipline.

It was the second medal for Bryan after a bronze medal winning effort too in the 3m springboard synchronised event on Tuesday with Yeoh Ken Nee.

Malaysia will thus leave the diving arena with the distinction of having at least one medal-winning effort in all four days of competition.

The team also achieved a best-ever meal haul of 1-1-2 in Commonwealth Games diving. Malaysia went on the medal board for the first time at the 2006 Melbourne Games with two silvers.

Pandelela Rinong clinched a historic gold medal for Malaysia in the women’s 10m platform and partnered Leong Mun Yee for silver in the 10m platform synchronised event.

And Bryan, who only qualified sixth best for the final, heaved a sigh of relief after accomplishing his target to get a first individual medal at the Commonwealth Games.

“I was not feeling good coming here as I injured my calf muscles during training in China,” he said.

“I was getting better but I was not so confident over whether I can take the strain even though I raised my difficulties. I’m happy to take bronze as the field is like in the world championships.”
At the Melbourne Games, the Sarawakian won silver with James Sandayud in the 10m synchronised event.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Wendy Ng finished eighth in the 3m springboard women’s final on 290.15.

Commonwealth Games / Diving: Duo Shine With Silver

Pandelela Rinong (left) and Leong Mun Yee in action in the 10m synchro platform .yesterday.

LEONG Mun Yee ended a 12-year wait spanning four Commonwealth Games after she and partner Pandelela Rinong saved their best for last to clinch the 10m synchro platform silver at the Dr SPM Aquatic Complex yesterday.

It was Malaysia's first Commonwealth Games diving medal in the women's category and both divers were filled with joy, especially as they were lying fourth after three dives and in danger of being upstaged by younger teammates Cheong Jun Hoong and Traisy Vivien Tukiet, who were second.But the third dive, which Mun Yee said is their secret weapon, took them to second place behind Australia's Olympic silver medallists Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak while Jun Hoong-Traisy finished fifth.

"We were confident that we would be able to place ourselves in the medal places as we have been working on this dive in training," said Mun Yee.

The three and a half somersault pike was so well executed that the Malaysians scored 82.56, the only dive of the evening that breached the 80-point mark.The Malaysians scored a total 328.38 points for the silver to the Australians 335.76. Australia also took the bronze through Briony Cole and Anabelle Smith.

Pandelela said errors in the earlier dives probably cost them the gold."The scoring by the judges was also a little questionable as well as the Australians seemed to get some high marks despite not doing too well in the earlier dives," said Pandelela.Still, it has been a good year for Pandelela, who won two silver at the Youth Olympics in Singapore and has now added the Commonwealth medal.

She has the 10m platform today while Mun Yee will be competing in the 1m and 3m individual springboard events.Mun Yee, partnering youngster Ng Yan Yee, didn't fare well in the 3m synchronised springboard as they finished last in the six-pair event.Gold medallists in last year's Laos Sea Games, the Malaysians could only score 260.04 points.Yeoh Ken Nee also had to bow to the emergence of younger divers as he relinquished the men's 1m springboard silver he won in Melbourne four years ago. Ken Nee finished fourth with 400.10 points.Bryan Nickson Lomas was seventh, scoring 370.80 points while Muhammad Fakhrul Md Zain finished 11th with 260.04.

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.

Rich Pickings For SEA Games’ Best Athlete Daniel

PUTRAJAYA: Swimmer Daniel Bego boosted his bank account by RM29,000 after becoming the biggest recipient of the Laos SEA Games incentive awards given out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.

Only the SEA Games gold medallists were rewarded and Daniel topped the list with his stunning five-gold performance in Vientiane.

Previous Malaysian male swimmers had never won more than two individual gold medals in a single Games but Daniel topped the list by coming out tops in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle as well as in the 100m butterfly.

Grand total: Daniel Bego shows off the trophy and the mock cheque for RM29,000 Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Sarawakian also secured an additional RM4,000 for setting four new SEA Games records.
The only event in which he did not lower the Games record was in the 200m butterfly.

Daniel, who also smashed the longest existing record in the 400m freestyle and was later named Best Male Athlete of the 25th edition of the Games, said the Asian and

Commonwealth Games would be his major goals this year.

“These are the two big meets which I hope to do well in. This is the first time I have qualified on merit for the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I have my A-level examinations some time in June and I plan to step up training after that,” said Daniel, who is also hotly tipped to win the Male Olympian of the Year award for the second successive time on Saturday.

A total of RM230,000 were handed out yesterday and aquatics, which accounted for 15 out of the 40 gold medals won by the Malaysian contingent, took the biggest share of the pie with a total of RM83,000.

Woman swimmer Siow Yi Ting was the second biggest individual recipient with RM18,000 for winning three gold medals in new SEA Games record times.

Fellow woman swimmer Khoo Cai Lin completed the list for swimming with RM6,000 while divers Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee and Wendy Ng Yan Yee collectively earned RM30,000.

The national football team, who ended a 20-year gold medal drought in Laos, received RM20,000.

Completing the list were athletics (RM32,000), karate (RM25,000), pencak silat (RM20,000), wushu (RM15,000), badminton (RM15,000), boxing (RM10,000), taekwondo (RM5,000) and archery (RM5,000).

Mun Yee, Yan Yee Complete Malaysia's Gold Harvest

Ng Yan Yee (left) and Leong Mun Yee en route to the 3m springboard synchronised gold at the National Sports Complex aquatics centre in Vientiane yesterday.

Seasoned Mun Yee Eyes Bonus Gold With Rookie Wendy