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KUALA LUMPUR: National diver, Ong Ker Ying has set her sights on defending the country's gold medal in the women's 3-metre springboard at the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in May.
The 21-year-old diver admitted that she was a little stressed because she felt she had to carry the responsibility of inheriting the gold medal, not to mention that she currently has a bacterial infection in her right eye.
However, the Kuala Lumpur-born athlete is determined to give 100 per cent effort in training and will discuss with her coach, Li Jun Bai to strategise the mission to be champion at the biennial games.
“Every year, Malaysia will clinch gold. This year, it is my turn to defend the gold medal.
“However, my dives just now were not the best. That is the biggest challenge for me,” she told reporters at the 58th Malaysian Invitational Age Group Diving Championship here today.
The national squad successfully defended the gold medal in the women's 3-m springboard at the 2011 Palembang SEA Games and 2015 Singapore Games via Cheong Jun Hoong, and Wendy Ng Yan Yee continued the golden legacy at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games, 2019 Philippines Games and 2022 Hanoi Games.
The diving championship taking place at the National Aquatic Centre at Bukit Jalil today saw Ker Ying clinch gold in the women’s 1-metre springboard after six dives for a total of 244.4 points.
The second place was won by Singaporean Deboran Toh with 170.1 points.
In the men’s category, national athlete Hanis Nazirul took gold with 313.4 points. -Bernama
