KUALA LUMPUR − Former national diver Leong Mun Yee hopes to see young athletes catch up so they are able to continue her legacy in the future.
Not only that, Mun Yee, who officially retired on December 31 after 27 years of creating waves, said that young divers must be mentally strong to garner success in tournaments or multi-sports games.
“I expect (the) more senior athletes to retire after (the) 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Hopefully, they (the younger athletes) could catch up.
“This is because the process to polish the diver is quite long before they can reach higher levels. It’s not something that is short-term as it takes a little longer to achieve results and I hope they won’t give up easily,” she told a press conference here yesterday.
Apart from Mun Yee, former world champion Cheong Jun Hoong ended more than two decades of involvement in the sport since 1999 when she officially announced her retirement on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Mun Yee, who plans to open a diving academy for kids aged five to 12, is eyeing the National Aquatics Centre in Bukit Jalil as its first location in June.
“I would like to set up in Bukit Jalil first as it offers the best facility and if everything goes smoothly, I plan to open the second one in Ipoh where I come from. Hopefully, I will get the support from the Youth and Sports Ministry as opening an academy involves a lot of processes and stages,” she said.
The Ipoh-born former athlete said that she decided to train those aged five to 12 to unearth raw talents.
“If you noticed, China starts to train their future divers very early so I think we can start from those who are aged five. Not only that, but a diving academy is also very rare here and additionally, there are not many local coaches around,” she added.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Swimming secretary-general Mae Chen, who was really sad over the news of Mun Yee’s retirement, heaped praises on the former national athlete and described her as a diligent and fantastic diver.
“She never complained despite being tired or injured. Every day − immediately after the evening session − she will head straight away to the National Sports Institute to release the tension in her body,” she said.
Mun Yee, who started diving at ten, was among the country’s most successful divers − having bagged numerous medals, including a silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea and two golds at the 2017 KL SEA Games. – Bernama, January 6, 2022
