KUALA LUMPUR: The national diving trials starting at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil today will serve not only as the selection meet for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games but also as a platform to identify new talents.
Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) have retained the same Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) from last year’s edition but expect better show.
Diving technical director Yeoh Ken Nee said the divers were in better condition heading into the two-day trials compared to last year.
“At this stage, we are fully satisfied with the condition of the divers but they can always improve,” said Ken Nee.
“There are fewer injuries among the podium and back-up divers this year. We hope they can perform better during the trials.
MAS are working to revive diving, which have suffered a decline in recent years. The implementation of the MQS – a system requiring national divers to meet a set scoring threshold – is expected to raise the overall standard.
“The main target this time is to bring in more faces to expand the pool of divers in our set-up.
“The main challenge for us is to rebuild the foundation. We used to be contenders for podium finishes in major diving competitions.
“Our production of divers, however, have slowed down over the years but other countries have stepped up.
“We have been relying on the same group of athletes and they have aged while injuries have also hampered their performance.”
Olympians taking part are Pandelela Rinong, Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Bertrand Rhodict who will have to reach their respective MQS scores to get on board for the Asian Games in September.
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