Mun Yee, Pandelela eye two golds in SEA Games

By LIM TEIK HUAT

KUALA LUMPUR: All hopes will be on Leong Mun Yee to keep both synchronised diving titles in the Laos SEA Games in Malaysian hands with new partner Pandelela Rinong.

And the duo showed they will be up to the task by raking in both the 3m springboard and 10m platform titles of the Mini Olympic Games at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

All together now: Leong Mun Yee (left) and Pandelela Rinong in action during the 3m springboard synchronised event yesterday. - UU BAN/THE STAR

Mun Yee-Pandelela, as expected, won the 10m platform synchronised gold with relative ease – garnering a total of 329.70 pionts. The duo had won the country’s first-ever World Championships medal – a bronze – in the same discipline in Rome last month.

But all eyes were on the 3m springboard synchronised event.

Winning style: Yeoh Ken Nee and Rossharisham Roslan won the 3m springboard synchronised event.

Mun Yee partnered Pandelela for the first time in the event and they staved off the back-up combination of Kam Ling Kar-Traisy Vivien to take the gold medal with 234.84.

Ling Kar-Traisy could have put up a stronger fight had they not messed up the fourth dive to earn only 14.52. They finish second on 201.24 points.

Mun Yee said it was the first time she had combined with Pandelela for the 3m springboard synchronised.

“Our performance was not very good today. Our synchronisation is not up to top standards but that is expected as we have not trained before for this discipline,” said Mun Yee, who bagged two gold medals at the Korat SEA Games two years ago.

“The possibility is that both of us will enter for the springboard and platform synchronised events at the Laos SEA Games. We have a lot to work to do in the next few months.”

Mun Yee partnered Elizabeth Jimie to come out tops in the 3m springboard and also won the 1m springboard individual in Korat. She also took silver in the 3m springboard individual.

However, the 1m springboard individual is not included in the programme for Laos.

Results

MEN

3m springboard synchronised: 1. Yeoh Ken Nee-Rossharisham Roslan 398.97, 2. Muhd Fakhrul-Ahmad Amsyar 369.63, 3. Ooi Tze Liang-Chew Yiwey 323.22.

10m platform synchronised: 1. Ooi Tze Liang-Chew Yiwei 317..55, 2. Abdul Rashid-Muhd Syafiq Puteh 315.18, 3. Adrian Chan-Amirul Amin 261.75.

WOMEN

3m springboard synchronised: 1. Leong Mun Yee-Pandelela Rinong 234.84, 2. Kam Ling Kar-Traisy Vivien 201.24, 3. Wendy Ng Yan Yee-Jasmine Lai 201.14.

10m platform synchronised: 1. Leong Mun Yee-Pandelela Rinong 329.70, 2. Kam Ling Kar-Traisy Vivien 253.41, 3. Loh Zhiayi-Jasmine Lai 201.48.