Pandelela Rinong sprained her knee during a training session in Guangzhou, China. — filepic
PETALING JAYA: Top Malaysian diver Pandelela Rinong will head to Glasgow
for the defence of her Commonwealth Games gold medal in less than
perfect physical condition after picking up a knee injury.
It is not comforting news at all for the Malaysian contingent preparing
for the Glasgow Games from July 23-Aug 3, coming less than a week after
the withdrawal of world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei due to a thigh
injury.
Pandelela, who won the women’s 10m platform gold at the 2010 Games in
New Delhi, sprained her knee during training in Guangzhou, China, on
Tuesday. The national squad are currently based there as they are also
preparing for the FINA Diving World Cup in Shanghai from July 15-20.
“Pandelela injured her knee during training and the coach (Yang
Zhuliang) took her to hospital as a precaution and to check on her
condition.
“The good thing is the X-ray did not show any broken bones, but she
needs time to heal,” said Edwin Chong, the secretary of the Amateur
Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM).
Pandelela, the bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, will skip
pool training for the next few days. With two important assignments
looming, the ASUM are keeping theirs fingers crossed that she can regain
full fitness.
The diving competition at the Games will only start from July 30-Aug 4,
but it remains to be seen whether Pandelela will recover in time to face
her challengers.
Besides defending the 10m platform title, the 21-year-old Sarawakian
will also take part in two other events. She will partner Leong Mun Yee
in the 10m platform synchro and Cheong Jun Hoong in the 3m springboard
synchro.
Pandelela-Mun Yee clinched the silver in the 10m platform synchro at the 2010 Games in New Delhi.
The other women divers in the Games squad are Wendy Ng, Loh Zhiayi,
Traisy Vivien Tukiet and Nur Dhabitah Sabri. The male divers are Ooi Tze
Liang, Chew Yiwei and Ahmad Amsyar Azman.
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