FINA Diving World Cup will go on next month - Malaysia Swimming

KUALA LUMPUR: Our national divers will get to have another splash to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan at the FINA Diving World Cup happening in the Japanese capital, next month.

Malaysia Swimming (MS) secretary-general Mae Chen confirmed that the event, slated to be held from April 18-23, would go on as usual, after receiving confirmation from FINA, Monday.

"I have spoken to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and National Sports Council (NSC) about our participation in the competition and they are aware that we will be going to Tokyo next month.

"It was indeed a huge sigh of relief for all of us as the divers will lose out their opportunity to feature in the Olympic Games next July if they don't participate in this competition," she said after attending the 2021 SEA Games selection committee meeting with OCM on Tuesday.

Previously, the status of the event was up in the air as Japan had extended its border restrictions until March 7 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Mae pointed out that the chances for the divers to earn a slot in the world's biggest sporting event are high if they take part in the Tokyo meet next month.

She also said that Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Wendy Ng Yan Yee, who have already qualified for Tokyo's Olympics, would feature in the outing.

The competition, she added, would see Cheong Jun Hoong to try to get the Olympics slot for the women's 10m platform individual, Chew Yiwei and Ooi Tze Liang will try their luck for the men's 3m springboard individual while the same goes for Nur Dhabitah and her partner, Wendy, to try to make the cut for the 3m synchronised springboard event.

Meanwhile, Mae said MS had proposed to the Sports Commissioner to organise a closed-event called Malaysian Open from May 20-23, as a final opportunity for the athletes to gain an upper hand for the Olympics qualification.

As for the 2021 SEA Games selection, Mae said MS will likely host an open event next June, in a bid to search for qualified swimmers especially youths aged 16 to 19 years, to represent the country in the biennial event in Hanoi, Vietnam.

She said MS plans to feature a combination of juniors and seniors swimmers to compete in the SEA Games, which is scheduled to be held from Nov 21 to Dec 3.

Mae further explained that the swimmers must have a proven track record, be it in open swimming championships here or overseas, to justify their qualifications to compete in the open event.

-- BERNAMA