PETALING JAYA: National Diver Cheong Jun Hoong (pic) is in disbelief that she is now the diving world champion.
"My god, I'm a world champion! Of course it is a dream come true," Jun Hoong told The Star.
"It is the first gold medal at the world championships in diving for Malaysia. It's unexpected and unbelievable," she added.
Cheong said she thought she had little chance of winning as the two Chinese divers - Si Yajie and Ren Qian - are the 2016 Rio Olympics silver and gold medalists.
"I had hoped a medal, but I didn’t think I could beat the Chinese divers. I have focused only for myself and I watched the scoreboard after the last dive of Si Yajie, so I realised my win only at that moment," said Jun Hoong.
Jun Hoong became Malaysia's first ever diving world champion after a stunning win in the women's 10m platform individual final at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Perakian, who partnered Pandelela Rinong to win the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, scored 397.50 points in the women's 10m platform individual.
Former world champion, Si Yajie, grabbed the silver medal with 396.00 points, while her fellow teammate, Ren Qian had to settle for bronze after amassing 391.95 points.
“Congratulations @cheongjunhoong! First world champion #Negaraku in the Women's Platform event at #FINABudapest2017,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak congratulated Cheong in a tweet on Thursday.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin weighed in, saying that Jun Hoong's win is nothing short of great and that she had broken China's dominance in diving.
