KUCHING: Home-grown support is on its way for Sarawak-born diver Pandelela Rinong, as her family make their way to attend the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to cheer her on.
Her parents, Pamg Johem and Hartini Lamin, aged 50 and 48, respectively, departed from the Kuching International Airport (KIA) here for Kuala Lumpur today.
The couple will later join their eldest son, Pardoka Indoma, 24, and leave for Rio De Janeiro about 2am today (Tuesday).
"I hope our presence in Brazil will motivate and boost Nong's fighting spirit during the individual competition this week.
"For the past week, throughout her participation in the Olympics, we had been sending her our well-wishes and messages of motivation via WhatsApp.
"We reminded her not to give up and to spare no effort in every tournament," said Pamg when met at the KIA.
Like every proud parent, Pamg, who is a construction worker, said the family have high hopes that Pandelela will score a medal for her next event.
He also urged fellow Malaysians to continue their support and to pray for his daughter's success.
"Personally, I have faith in my daughter's ability. She has been working so hard prior to the Olympic Games.
"Regardless of the outcome, I am proud of her and what she has become.
"We can't wait to be reunited with her after keeping track of her feats from the television and newspaper reports," he said.
Pamg said his daughter had made preparations for the family's trip to Brazil since March this year. Pandelela had forked out RM9,000 for flight tickets for each family member.
Last week, Pandelela, together with Cheong Jun Hoong from Ipoh, bagged Malaysia's first medal in Rio through the women’s 10m platform synchronised diving event.
The pair earned a silver medal by collecting a total of 344.34 points during the event on Tuesday.