THE MALAYSIAN Swimming Federation (MAS) will immediately investigate diver Datuk Pandelela Rinong’s claims that interference from an ‘entity’ had affected the performance of the national diving squad during the World Aquatic Championships (WAC) in Doha recently.
The below par performance of the diving squad saw divers failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
MAS secretary-general Andy Low said he met Pandelela yesterday morning to gather input from the diver, but refused to disclose any details until investigations are over and after receiving endorsement from the National Sports Council’s Working Committee meeting which is expected to take place within three weeks to a month.
“Nothing much (about interference), once investigations are over and we know exactly what, then will inform in next press conference,” he said after a post-mortem meeting to discuss the diving squad’s failure in Doha, which lasted for about four hours.
The WAC, which was the final platform to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, however saw no Malaysian divers coming even close to the qualifying mark.
The failure of divers in Doha meant that only Betrand Rhodict Lises, who had already qualified for the men’s 10m platform at the Fukuoka World Cup last year, will represent the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Upon the diving squad’s return from Doha, Pandelela when met by reporters claimed there was an element that affected the performance of senior and junior divers.
Meanwhile, Andy Low said the federation would tighten the selection process for international competitions and would only consider athletes who achieved the qualifying standards set for the respective events.
“We respect the desire and commitment of athletes who wish to continue but there need to be positive improvement and qualifying score, QMS (quality management systems) to be considered for future tournaments. In the past it was the coaches who did the selection.
“We will ensure everybody trained hard, they need to reach the mark, then qualify,” he said adding that the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s (OCM) decision to not send seniors for SEA Games is a good decision.
He also acknowledged that the performances of Pandelela and Nur Dhabitah Sabri had been ‘stagnant’ since the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The meeting yesterday was also attended by representatives from the National Sports Council and National Sports Institute. – Bernama, February 16, 2024
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