National Sports Council director-general Jefri Ngadirin.
PETALING JAYA: Russian coaches are set to bolster Malaysia’s diving team, sparking hopes of ending a 10-year Olympic medal drought.
National Sports Council director-general Jefri Ngadirin confirmed that two Russian coaches have been appointed to strengthen the squad.
The pair bring proven pedigree, having helped produce Olympic-level divers in their homeland.
He however, did not name them.
"The appointments are part of a long term process to streamline a sustainable coaching lineup, enabling us to compete at a higher level.
"Two Russian coaches will arrive in the near future. We are also planning to appoint capable local coaches to complement the national diving set-up," said Jefri.
"We need to discuss their salaries and after that apply to get the working visa and process the paperwork. Let them come here first and Malaysia Aquatics can make the announcement."
The move marks a major shift for Malaysia Aquatics, with the diving team having been guided by Chinese coaches since the National Sports Council launched its full-time programme in 1995.
Yang Zhuliang was the most prominent among them, serving from 2002 to 2017 and overseeing Malaysia’s golden era, which included a world title for Cheong Jun Hoong and two Olympic medals – Pandelela Rinong’s bronze at London 2012 and the Pandelela-Jun Hoong silver in Rio 2016.
That synchro silver remains Malaysia’s last Olympic diving medal.
Nur Dhabitah Sabri came closest to ending the drought with a fourth-place finish in the women’s 3m springboard at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
More recently, Malaysia Aquatics opted not to renew the contracts of Chinese coaches Li Junbai and Li Junsong after they failed to meet key performance indicators.
Former divers Datuk Leong Mun Yee, Ooi Tze Liang, Nor Aznizal Najib and Farah Begum Abdullah are now part of the national coaching set-up.
Jefri however, said that the preparation of the athletes for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games would not be affected with the arrival of new coaches as they would be tasked to guide them for the 2027 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
"I don’t foresee many coaching changes because we have carried out evaluations with the National Coaches Academy on both competency and performance.
"As for those who did not meet expectations, they should be aware of their KPIs for the SEA Games and Para ASEAN Games, and understand the implications," he added.
