Junior divers to be given exposure this year

PETALING JAYA: It is not just the senior divers who will be making a splash this year. The juniors will also be given a chance to make their presence felt on the world stage.

It will be a busy year ahead for divers in the national set-up with the Diving World Series, World Cup, Asian and Commonwealth Games lined up.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong said the second echelon of divers will not be ignored either.

The Diving World Series will kick off with the first of six legs in Beijing from March until May.

July will see the divers aiming for glory at the World Cup in Shanghai before they head to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games.

Then it’s off to the Asian Games in September.

Malaysia will also be making a bid to qualify one male and one female diver for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in August through the qualifiers in Guadalajara, Mexico, in March.

“We will start sending the younger divers out to more assignments. They will be going to four World Grand Prix meets this year.

“The level of competition is high but it will be a good place to start establishing themselves and get noticed by the judges.

“It is important we have representation at the overseas Grand Prix as impressions matter in diving.

“Besides, Malaysia will be hosting a Grand Prix leg for the first time later this year.

“We also need the second echelon divers to come up and start bridging the gap between them and the seniors.

“We can’t depend on the seniors for every major international competition,” he said.

The National Sports Council has given the divers the green light to participate in the German GP in Rostock from Feb 21-23, the Canadian GP in Gatineau from May 1-4, the Singapore GP from Oct 17-19 and, naturally, the Malaysian GP from Oct 24-26.

The Grand Prix calendar this year comprises eight legs.

The divers who will be heading to Rostock are SEA Games double gold medallist Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Trasie Vivien Tukiet, Kam Ling Kar, Jasmine Lai, Adeline Chin and Chew Yi Wei.

The national divers are undergoing a month-long training stint in Guangzhou in preparation for this year’s assignments.