Skip to main content

Pandelela will shine again

NATIONAL coach Yang Zhuliang believes Pandelela Rinong will return to her best for the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona following a promising performance in the recent Diving World Series.

On her return from an ankle injury since the London Olympics, Pandelela earned a bronze in the women's 10-metre platform in the opening leg in Beijing but failed to finish on the podium in Dubai.
Pandelela posted a 353.50 points in Dubai for fifth place compared to her bronze score of 337.75 in Beijing.

Zhuliang said the other competitors performed better and scored higher in Dubai but Pandelela should not be disheartened.

"It should serve as an eye-opener and hopefully, Pandelela will use this as motivation to achieve greater heights. Pandelela did fine in Dubai but her second dive on the arm stand position did not impress the judges," said Zhuliang yesterday.

"She must also work on her entries. It is not as perfect as before but I believe she will make clean dives soon."

Pandelela, 20, second in the series last season, is fighting against time to prepare for the world meet scheduled for July 19-Aug 4.

"Pandelela is one of the most hard-working divers I've ever worked with and I am confident she will overcome all challenges to attain success. She is talented and an Olympic medallist... she needs to polish her dives and try new routines to remain competitive," said Zhuliang.

The Commonwealth Games champion will continue her campaign in the series in Edinburgh (April 19-21) followed by Moscow (April 26-28), Guadalajara (May 17-19) and Mexico City (May 24-26).
She is using the series to prepare for the World University Games (Kazan July 6-17) and the world meet. A Sport Science undergraduate of Universiti Malaya, Pandelela may skip the University Games pending approval as it is scheduled too close to the world meet.

Pandelela is also down for the World Grand Prix in Canada (May 2-5) and the United States (May 9-12). The outdoor event in the US will be a perfect warm-up for the national squad as the world meet will be held in similar conditions. By Ajitpal Singh

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...

Atlet Tempuhi Empat Kejohanan Besar Sebelum Olimpik Rio 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mei (Bernama) -- Empat temasya sukan penting yang dijadual berlangsung mulai Disember ini hingga 2015 menjadi medan persiapan atlet negara sebelum menghadapi cabaran Sukan Olimpik 2016 di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, kata Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Khairy Jamaluddin Jumaati. Kejohanan berkenaan ialah Sukan SEA di Myanmar pada Disember, Sukan Asia 2014 di Incheon, Korea Selatan, Sukan Komanwel 2014 di Glasgow, Scotland dan Sukan SEA 2015 di Singapura. Bercakap kepada pemberita selepas melawat Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) di Bukit Jalil di sini, Khairy berkata kesemua temasya sukan itu dilihat amat penting dalam memastikan impian negara untuk membawa pulang pingat emas Olimpik pertama menjadi kenyataan. "Kita di Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) mahupun MSN akan memastikan semua atlet mendapat bantuan sewajarnya dalam melakukan persiapan ke arah membawa pulang pingat emas pertama negara di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil nanti," katanya. Dalam perkemb...

Uber Cub: Malaysian squad Can Spring A Surprise - Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek remains confident that the national Uber Cup squad can spring a surprise when Malaysia hosts the Thomas and Uber Cup finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16. He said despite not being the favourite, the women's team was able to surprise everyone by winning the gold medal at the Laos SEA Games. "I am confident they (Uber Cup team) will be able to produce a similar surprise. Not only are they capable of reaching the semi-final, they can go further," he told reporters after having lunch with national shuttlers here Thursday. National badminton Team manager Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Abdullah who echoed the minister's confidence said: "In Laos, nobody expected the women's team to win the world, so why not the Uber Cup? All they need to do is try their very best." Women's team captain Wong Pei Tty said she and her team-mates have set a target of r...