AFTER being split for the Commonwealth Games, divers Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng Yan Yee were reunited at the Asian Games to great effect after winning silver in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard yesterday.
Both divers had injury concerns hovering over them but Jun Hoong and Wendy were calmness personified as they executed all their dives cleanly in the six-pair field.
Malaysia also won a bronze medal yesterday through Ooi Tze Liang and Chew Yiwei in the men’s synchronised 10m platform.
For Wendy, it was her second Asian Games medal after winning silver in the same event four years ago with Leong Mun Yee.
“The coach (Yang Zhuliang) decides who we should be partnered with so for this event, Jun Hoong and I were reunited,” said Wendy, 21, at the Munhak Park Tae Hwan Aquatics Centre.
“We trained hard to get gold but that was always going to be tough. We are getting closer to the China divers but we’ll have to work harder in training.”
The Malaysian pair scored 287.70 points from their five dives to finish second to China’s Wu Minxia, a four-time Olympic champion, and Shi Tingmao, who tallied 318.60 points.
The bronze medal went to North Korea’s Choe Un-Gyong and Kim Jin-Ok (274.32).
Jun Hoong was glad to be able to retain the silver medal which Wendy and Leong Mun Yee won in 2010 in Guangzhou.
“We are happy to get this silver medal and I think we did quite well,” said Jun Hoong, 24, who won bronze in the 3m springboard in Guangzhou in 2010.
“Our synchronisation and partnership were very good and we are proud to get this silver together. It has been well worth the trouble (with injuries) as we’ve put a lot effort into training.”
Yiwei, 18, was happy to get a medal with Tze Liang, who won silver in the synchronised platfrom with Bryan Nickson Lomas in Guangzhou, on his Asian Games debut.
The duo, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists in this event, were in fourth place after four dives but a mistake by the North Korean pair allowed the Malaysians to move up to third.
Tze Liang-Yiwei held on to the bronze after a final back 2½somersault with 1 1/2 twists garnered 75.84 points for a total of 384.90.
Chen Aisen-Zhang Yanguan scored 462.90 for China’s 62nd straight gold medal in diving since 1974 while silver went to South Korea’s Kim Yeongnam-Woo Haram (403.50).
“I feel that the Asian Games is very tough with a lot of very strong divers here so to be able to step on the podium, I’m very happy,” said Yiwei.