PANDELELA Rinong and Leong Mun Yee will be aiming for another impressive performance ahead of the London Olympic Games at the Beijing leg of the Diving World Series which starts tomorrow.
Pandelela turned in a mesmerising show at last weekend's opening leg in Dubai by clinching bronze in the women's 10-metre platform individual and silver in the synchro with Mun Yee.The Beijing leg has also attracted some of the best divers, including world, Olympic and continental champions.
Pandelela and Mun Yee will be using the event to try out more difficult routines for the Olympics.
Coach Yang Zhuliang wants them to make the most of the competition. "A diver cannot afford to make even one mistake at the Olympics as it will likely cost him or her a medal. My goal is to get my divers 100 per cent prepared for London," said Yang Zhuliang yesterday.
"They need to put in practice for new routines in competitions so that they can get used to them. I am happy with the progress made by the Olympic-bound divers, especially Pandelela and Mun Yee, who both won medals in Dubai.
"However, I cannot predict whether they are good enough for Olympic medals at this stage. It will all depend on how they improve ahead of the Games."
The four-leg World Series showcases only the top eight ranked divers and the top six ranked pairs. The Moscow and Tijuana legs are scheduled for next month.
The eight Olympic-bound divers, who will compete in 10 disciplines in London, will compete in two Diving Grand Prix competitions in Montreal, Canada (May 3-6) and Fort Lauderdale, US (May 10-13) before heading for China for a six-week training stint. - By Ajitpal Singh
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