KUALA LUMPUR - Although the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) have brought Cheong Jun Hoong’s Tokyo Olympic qualification issue to the attention of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) on Wednesday, the decision is likely to stay.
OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the International Sports Federations (IFs) have the authority to decide on the qualification criteria for their respective sports, especially during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have submitted our appeal to the IOC, asking them to look into the matter again because, initially, it was informed that the top 18 divers at the 2021 Diving World Cup would qualify, but (it was) reduced to 15... so, we have to look into it again.
“However, we all know that all these guidelines and rules are basically issued by the IFs, in this case (it’s) FINA (International Swimming Federation), so they have the authority to do it. Same like the Badminton World Federation (BWF), who had to cancel few qualifying tournaments that affected the whole process,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
On Wednesday, Malaysia Swimming secretary-general Mae Chan confirmed that former world champion Jun Hoong, who reached the semi-finals of the Diving World Cup where she was placed 18th overall, missed out on the opportunity to compete in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
This was following the decision by FINA to allow only the best 15 divers in the women’s 10m platform individual at the Diving World Cup to feature in the Tokyo Olympics, as the quota for the diving slots is limited to 68 for men and 68 for women.
Apart from Jun Hoong, another diver Muhammad Syafiq Puteh also missed the cut in the men’s 3m springboard event due to the new ruling.
Four national women divers have confirmed their berth in the Tokyo Olympics, namely Pandelela Rinong (10m platform individual and 10m platform synchronised); Nur Dhabitah Sabri (3m springboard individual); Wendy Ng Yan Yee (3m springboard individual); and Leong Mun Yee (10m platform synchronised). - Bernama. June 25, 2021
