Kimberly to make int'l debut at World Diving GP
Published on: Wednesday, October 19, 2016
PETALING JAYA: Kimberly Bong Qian Ping could be the next top diver to come out of Sarawak after Pandelela Rinong and Bryan Nickson Lomas.The 14-year-old, who stands at only 1.54m, will make her international debut in the Fina World Diving Grand Prix at the Pandelela Rinong Aquatics Centre in Kuching this weekend, reported The Star.National coach Yang Zhuliang gave Kimberly the nod to compete in the women's 10m platform individual after assessing her in Monday's training session. ADVERTISEMENT Kimberly and fellow Sarawakian Traisy Vivien Tukiet will be Malaysia's representatives in the event.Kimberly, who joined the national set-up late last year, did well at the Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Kuching in July. She partnered Elisha Rania Abrial Rajagopal Francis to bag the gold for Sarawak in the women's 10m platform synchro. Kimberly also bagged three bronzes in the 1m springboard individual, 10m platform individual and 3m springboard synchro with Elisha.ADVERTISEMENT "Kimberly has a solid foundation and her entry is very neat. She is only 14 and still too young to compete in the World Championships. But I believe she has a good future with proper guidance and training," said Zhuliang."It's the right time to expose the younger divers like Kimberly. After the Olympics (in Rio de Janeiro in August), the other top diving countries are doing the same thing," added the Chinese coach.
ADVERTISEMENT
Malaysia have entered four men and six women for the Sarawak stop, which is the third of the eight-leg Diving Grand Prix.The others in the women's squad are Rio Olympians Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng Yan Yee, Jasmine Lai and 2014 Youth Olympic silver medallist Loh Zhiayi.In Rio, Jun Hoong partnered Pandelela to a silver in the 10m platform synchro while Wendy also performed well to finish 10th in the 3m springboard individual. Pandelela is not competing this time due to study commitments.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
Ooi Tze Liang, Chew Yiwei, Ahmad Amsyar Azman and Muhd Syafiq Puteh make up the men's team.Besides Malaysia, the other competing countries are China, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore and the United States.