Pandelela Not Losing Sleep Over Failure To Secure Medal

PETALING JAYA: Pandelela Rinong did not achieve her objective to secure a third medal from the FINA Diving World Series, which concluded in Guanajuato, Mexico, on Saturday.

But the 18-year-old is not losing sleep over it and is determined to come back with a stronger performance at the world championships in Shanghai from July 16-24.

Pandelela finished fourth with partner Leong Mun Yee in the women’s synchronised 10m synchronised final on 303.36 points behind Australia’s Alexandra Croak-Melissa Wu (323.22).

China’s reigning world champions Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao took gold on 353.70 ahead of Canadians Meaghan Benfeito-Roseline Filion, who amassed 327.45.

So close: Pandelela Rinong finished fourth with Leong Mun Yee in the women’s 10m synchronised final in Mexico.

In the individual event, Pandelela made the top six final but did not improve on her position after messing up the second dive.

But two silver medals and a perfect record of reaching the individual final in all four legs of the series are breakthroughs again for Malaysian diving.

Malaysia’s best-ever achievement on the world stage was when Pandelela-Mun Yee grabbed a bronze in the synchronised 10m platform event at the last world championships in Rome two years ago.

But it is the individual 10m platform that Pandelela is aiming to shine this time.

“There is no competition after this as I want to work on improving my difficulties to get ready for the world championships,” said Padelela, who became Malaysia’s first gold medallist in Commonwealth Games diving in New Delhi last year.

“The world championships will be my biggest goal. A medal is possible if I can make cleaner entries.

“I also want to qualify early for the Olympics on merit but this should not be a problem if I am consistent in my dives.”

She added that she was satisfied with her performances in the world series as she did not raise the difficulties.

“China are ahead of the rest but we can consider ourselves competitive against the Australians and Canadians, Americans and Russians,” she said.

Pandelela’s intention to do well in the individual discipline is not wishful thinking.

She made the world stand up and take notice in her debut appearance at the world championships with a fifth-place finish in the individual 10m platform.

And she can take heart in the fact that the Chinese divers are beatable when it comes to the high board.

Mexico’s Paola Espinosa denied Ruolin from adding the world title to her collection in Rome while British diver Thomas Daley won the men’s competition.

Pandelela Needs A Podium Finish To Secure Second Overall Spot

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s top female diver Pandelela Rinong will be out to make a quick rebound in the final leg of the FINA Diving World Series in Guanajuato this weekend.

Pandelela has a chance to claim a historic second overall finish in the four-leg series if she finishes on the podium in the Mexican city.

She is in third place in a 10-diver standings in the women’s 10m platform on 36 points, trailing Australia’s Alexandra Croak by just four points.

China’s Olympic champion Chen Ruolin, who won the first two legs in Moscow and Beijing, sits comfortable at the top on 52 points.

Pandelela reached the top-six final in the event in all three previous legs and she is out to keep the momentum going.

Back on the board: Pandelela Rinong is optimistic of recovering from a shoulder injury before the competition in the final leg begins Friday.

Her hopes of putting up a strong fight in the final of the third leg in Sheffield last week was hindered by a shoulder injury and she finished last.

Pandelela is optimistic that she will recover before the competition in the final leg begins tomorrow.

”The shoulder strain affected my entry and twist,” said the 18-year-old, who earned a silver medal in the Moscow leg.

“I was not able to dive properly but I think I will get better by Friday. If I can recover my dives, I believe another medal is possible.”

Pandelela has good memories of her previous experience in Mexico as she won the event when the qualifiers for the Youth Olympics were held there last year. She went on to bag two silver medals in the Games in Singapore.

Then at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the Sarawakian gave a sensational gold medal-winning performance.

In the final leg of the World Series, Pandelela will also compete in the synchronised platform competition, partnering Leong Mun Yee.

The duo are in fourth place in the standings on 57 points and may also overtake their Australian and Canadian rivals if they repeat their silver medal show in Beijing.

The prestigious series is only by invitation and gathers the top eight divers from the world rankings last year.


Top five rankings

Women’s 10m platform individual: 1. Chen Ruolin (Chn) 51, 2. Alexandra Croak (Aus) 40, 3. Pandelela Rinong (Mas) 36, 4. Hu Yadan (Chn) 34, 5. Paola Espinosa (Mex) 34.

Women’s 10m platform synchronised: 1. Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao (Chn) 81, 2. Meaghan Benfeito-Roseline Filion (Can) 66, 3. Alexandra Croak-Melissa Wu (Aus) 63, 4. Leong Mun Yee-Pandelela Rinong (Mas) 57, 5. Tania Couch-Rebecca Gallantree (Gbr) 27.

No Third Straight World Series Medal For Pandelela

PETALING JAYA: Pandelela Rinong missed out on earning a third consecutive medal in the FINA Diving World Series, settling for fourth place in her partnership with Leong Mun Yee in the women’s 10m platform synchronised final of the third leg in Sheffield last Saturday.

The Malaysian duo mustered a strong comeback in the last two dives and had a chance to finish ahead of the Canadian and Australian pairs to repeat a silver medal performance in the previous leg in Beijing two weeks ago. Pandelela-Mun Yee needed 80 points for their fifth and final dives but only managed 75.84 to remain in fourth position with a total of 322.08.

Australia’s Melissa Wu-Alexandra Croak, who also scored 75.84 in the final dive, finished just ahead on 325.26 points for the bronze.

Canadians Roseline Filion-Meaghan Benfeito bagged the silver on 325.71 and China’s Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao claimed their third successive gold medal in the series on 347.46.

Pandelela also made the final of the women’s individual 10m platform on Friday but was not at her best and finished sixth on 311.30. Hu Yadan denied her Chinese team-mate Ruolin a third consecutive gold medal in the event by coming out tops on 442.00.

Ruolin took silver on 408.60 ahead of Mexican Paola Espinosa (356.10).

Pandelela made history by bagging the country’s first-ever medal, a silver, in the individual 10m platform in the first leg of the series in Moscow last month. Together with Mun Yee, Pandelela will go to Mexico for the final leg this weekend.

PANDELELA-MUN YEE WIN FIRST-EVER SILVER MEDAL

PETALING JAYA: The plucky duo of Pandelela Rinong-Leong Mun Yee showed nerves of steel to recover from a poor opening effort to nail a first-ever silver medal for Malaysia in the women’s 10m platform synchronised final of the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing last night.

Pandelela-Mun Yee garnered 50.40 and were placed last behind main Australian and Canadian rivals after the first dive at the Water Cube Aquatics Centre, venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But the duo improved to third place after the next dive. They nudged ahead of Australian pair Alexandra Croak-Melissa Wu on a slim margin of 0.2 point after the third dive.

Near perfection: The Malaysian pair of Pandelela Rinong (front) and Leong Mun Yee making their final dive in the 10m platform synchronised final of the FINA Diving World Series at the Water Cube in Beijing yesterday. — CHOW HOW BAN / The Star

And then an impressive fifth and final dive earned Pandelela-Mun Yee 83.52 points and the first silver medal for the country in the discipline at the prestigious series.

Pandelela-Mun Yee amassed 338.46 points ahead of Croak-Melissa, who only managed 78.72 with their last dive to take bronze with 331.50 points.

China’s reigning Olympic champions Chen Ruolin-Wang Hao claimed the gold as expected with a total of 365.52 points.It was their second consecutive win in the series after emerging tops in the opening leg in Moscow last week.

The silver medal must have brought satisfaction for the Malaysian combination after narrowly missing out on a medal in the discipline in Moscow.

This is also the second medal for Pandelela in the series. She made history with the first medal for the country – a silver in the 10m platform individual in Moscow and their performances augurs well for their chances of making another big impression in the World Championships in Shanghai in July.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary Edwin Chong, who is in Beijing, said the silver is a good boost for the duo, especially after fighting back from last place among the six finalists.

”This is their second big achievement after taking bronze in the 2009 world championships in Rome.

“The Australians were also the Commonwealth Games gold medallists in New Delhi last year while our pair managed silver.

”If they continue to improve, they have a chance to make the podium at the world championships again and more importantly, qualify for the Olympics for the first time in the event,” said Edwin.

The world championships will offer early tickets to the London Olympics for the first top three pairs and Pandelela-Mun Yee will hope to make history as the first pair to do so for Malaysia.

FOURTH-PLACE PANDELELA MISSES OUT ON ANOTHER MEDAL

PETALING JAYA: Common-wealth Games champion diver Pandelela Rinong just missed out on a second consecutive medal in the FINA Diving World Series by a whisker in the women’s 10m platform individual at the Water Cube Aquatics Centre in Beijing last night.

Pandelela garnered 357.05 after the fifth and final dive to be denied the bronze by Australian Alexandra Croak by a margin of 0.45.

China’s Olympic champion Chen Ruolin earned her second consecutive gold medal by finishing on top with 426 points.

Another world champion in the making, 15-year-old Hu Yadan, gave China the silver as well with 423.05 points.

It was an agonising finish for 18-year-old Pandelela after fighting her way back to medal contention after placing last in the field of six finalists after the first two dives.

Pandelela had reached the final after finishing third in her semi-finals earlier and it was still a laudable performance from her despite ending without a medal.

Pandelela finished ahead of reigning world champion Paola Espinosa in the elite field, which is only extended to the top 10 ranked divers from the world and continental rankings.

Pandelela pulled off a first for Malaysia in the prestigious series by bagging the silver in the same discipline behind Ruolin in the first leg in Moscow a week ago.

Pandelela still has another chance to bag a medal from Beijing as she will compete in the women’s 10m platform synchronised event with Mun Yee tonight.

Pandelela and Mun Yee are the only Malaysians to qualify for the four-leg series this year.

The remaining legs will be held in Sheffield (April 15-16) and Mexico (April 22-23).

Pandelela Grabs A Silver In World Series

PETALING JAYA: Diver Pandelela Rinong is (pic) making the world take notice of her ability with another big breakthrough for Malaysia in the opening leg of the FINA Diving World Series in Moscow.

The 18-year-old Pandelela pulled off a first for Malaysia in the series by bagging the silver in the women’s 10m platform individual event on the first day of competition on Friday.

She chalked up 369.45 points to secure the silver. China’s reigning Olympic champion in the discipline, Chen Ruolin, gave a standout performance to take the gold on 409.95 and Australian Alexandra Croak settled for the bronze on 358.95.

Pandelela together with partner Leong Mun Yee are the only Malaysians to qualify for the pres­tigious four-leg series this year. The other legs will be held in Beijing (March 25-26), Shef­field (April 15-16) and Mexico (April 22-23).

Only the top 10 ranked divers are invited to compete in the series based on their performances in the world circuit and continental championships last year.

Pandelela said that she competed without any pressure but her hopes soared after finishing on top of her group in the semi-finals.

“The best three divers from the two groups qualify for the final. The Chinese diver emerged first in the other group,” said the Sarawakian in a telephone interview yesterday.

“I’m happy to dive well and break my personal best score in the 10m platform.”

The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia secretary, Edwin Chong, praised Pandelela for putting Malaysia on the world diving map.

“This is a good quality competition and we are proud of her as she is the first Malaysian diver to make the podium in the Diving World Series,” he said.

Pandelela’s performance certainly augurs well for her chances of a strong showing in the world championships in Shanghai in July.

The world championships will not just be about fighting for medals but also to secure early qua­­lification for the Olympics next year.

The 12 finalists in individual disciplines are assured of places in the London Games and Pandelela is definitely on track to secure qualification, judging from her latest effort.

Pandelela recently beat several high-profile athletes to win the 100Plus Sportswriters Association of Malaysia’s (SAM) 2011 Athlete of the Year award, thanks to her outstanding performances in major competitions last year.

She won two silver medals at the Youth Olympics in Singapore. She went on to become the first-ever Malaysian diver to win a gold in Commonwealth Games history in New Delhi last October.
The following month, Pandelela also stood tall in her Asian Games debut in Guangzhou, winning a silver and a bronze even though she had to deal with a back muscle sprain.

Diver Pandelela Aiming For Top Three Finish In Moscow

KUALA LUMPUR: A confident Pandelela Rinong is ready to make an explosive start in her first assignment this year when she competes in the opening leg of the FINA Diving World Series in Moscow next month.

The 18-year-old Pandelela is eyeing a top-three finish – a feat no Malaysian woman diver has achieved before.

Having enjoyed success in the last two major events, the Sarawakian is confident of making the breakthrough.

She believes that the solid two-month training she had undergone under under coach Yang Zhuliang would put her in good stead when she takes on the big guns.

“The training at home helped me to fine-tune my diving execution and skills. But what is more important is that I am injury-free,” said Pandelela.

Despite being troubled by a neck injury for some time last year, the determined youngster showed nerves of steel to cap a superb year in 2010, emerging as one of the stars in the Malaysian sporting scene with her exploits in diving.

She won two silver medals at the Youth Olympic Games before making a golden dive in the 10m platform at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games – becoming the first Malaysian diver to do so in the Games series.

She also stood tall against the strong cast from China to win one silver and three bronze medals at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

“I am looking forward to achieving better results this year. My previous best in the World Series was a fourth placing (in Munich last year). It will be great to start the year by breaking into the top three in the first leg at Moscow next month,” she said.

“I am in good condition and I have a few more weeks to get ready. I will continue to devote my time to perfecting my routines.”

Pandelela will compete in two events in all tournaments this year – the individual 10m platform and the 10m synchronised diving.

In the synchronised event, she will partner the ever reliable and experienced Leong Mun Yee.

Asked if she would train in China this year, Pandelela said: “Yes, it is in the pipeline but we have not decided on the dates yet.”