KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — National divers will undergo a six-day training camp at the Tuanku Zara Aquatic Centre in Ipoh, Perak, from April 19, as they gear up to compete in the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, slated to be from held May 12-23.
Apart from training, Malaysia Swimming (MS) secretary-general Mae Chen said the national divers would have a chance to prove their mettle as they are scheduled to participate in a two-day competition on April 22 and 23 at the same venue.
“The national divers will compete with state divers nationwide in the competition. This is a good platform to get them in the mood for the competition again apart from helping state divers prepare for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) soon,” she told Bernama when contacted today.
Mae said the competition would also act as a litmus test for young pair Enrique MacCartney Harold, 20, and Bertrand Rhodict, 19, to impress the coaches into selecting them for the men’s synchronised 10 metre (m) platform event in Hanoi.
However, she said a daunting task awaited Enrique and Bertrand as they would have to battle against 2017 SEA Games champions Hanis Nazirul Jaya Surya and Jellson Jabillin.
“This is basically to test Enrique and Bertrand on whether they are ready or not to compete in their first ever SEA Games, because don’t forget we do have a strong competition from Singapore in the men’s synchronised 10m platform event,” she added.
In the last SEA Games in Manila, Philippines, the national diving squad swept all four golds apart from raking up another two silver medals offered by the hosts.
On a separate note, Mae informed that former national diver Datuk Leong Mun Yee would officially begin her new role as the national assistant coach on April 1.
“National Sports Council (NSC) had already issued the appointment letter to Mun Yee recently,” she said.
Last month, Mae told Bernama that should NSC hand out the contract, Mun Yee would be tasked with training those under the Podium Programme.
In the meantime, she said the second assistant coach to Li Rui, Li Jun Bao of China had to postpone his arrival yesterday, following a ‘hiccup’ in flight arrangements and documentation process.
“I had to sort this thing out with the travel agency to bring him to Malaysia and I hope he will arrive soonest,” she said. — Bernama
