Skip to main content

DIVING: Sacrifice in search of gold

NO DISTRACTION: Huang Qiang sends family back to China

Huang Qiang
Huang Qiang

DIVER Huang Qiang has made the ultimate sacrifice for Olympic glory.
The naturalised Malaysian has moved his family back to China as he does not want distractions ahead of the London Games.

Huang Qiang will make his Olympic debut after he and Bryan Nickson Lomas earned a quota spot in the 3-metre springboard synchro at the World Cup in London, where they also made history by clinching bronze.

The 30-year-old, who received his citizenship in July, is serious about making an impact at the London Games after a back injury kept him out from the China team for the 2000 edition in Sydney.
National coach Yang Zhuliang said Huang Qiang made a difficult decision to move his family to China.
"His Malaysian wife and five-month-old son are with his parents in China. He felt it would be too taxing to take care of his family and also focus on training," said Zhuliang yesterday.

"I like his serious attitude as he has made a huge sacrifice for the Olympic Games. He is getting better in training and I hope he will be able to make an impression in London."
Huang Qiang, a former Asian Games medallist, will compete in his second competition since making a return to the sport at the World Cup in February at the four-day second leg of the Diving World Grand Prix, which starts on Thursday, in Montreal, Canada.

He will not only compete in the springboard synchro with Lomas but also in the individual event.
"I am grooming him for the individual event to take Lomas' spot in the London Games. Lomas has earned three Olympic quotas and he may drop the springboard individual if Huang Qiang shapes up well in training and competitions," Zhuliang added.

Huang Qiang, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to make an impression in Canada.
"All that hard work in training is making me very tired but it is worth it. My right shoulder hurts because of the training.

"I have been told that I could opt for an additional discipline in London apart from the springboard synchro. I hope to get it right in Montreal," said Huang Qiang, adding that his combination with Lomas has gotten better since the World Cup.

The Olympic-bound diving team comprising Lomas, Yeoh Ken Nee, Huang Qiang, Pandelela Rinong, Cheong Jun Hoong, Wendy Ng, Leong Mun Yee and Traisy Vivien, left for Montreal yesterday.
Zhuliang will use the competition and also next week's Fort Lauderdale leg to gauge his divers' performance, where some of them will be testing new routines.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Indonesia Choose Komodo Dragon As SEA Games Mascot

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- Host for the 26th SEA Games, Indonesia has chosen the Komodo dragon as mascot for the 2011 Games which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Nov 11 to 25. The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Inasoc), was qouted by Jakarta Post as saying that a pair of Komodo dragons, a male (Modo) and a female (Modi), were chosen in recognition of the Republic's conservation efforts to protect the dwindling number of the rare lizard. Modo and Modi were unveiled last night at a function in Jakarta, to mark the 200-day countdown before the games open on Nov 11 in Palembang. The Komodo dragons, the largest lizard in the world, only live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. On Jan 15, Inasoc unveiled its logo, a Garuda eagle, to symbolize the power and grandeur of Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the Games between 1977, when it first competed, and 1997, failing to top the medal charts only twice in that p...
1 comment
Read more