KUALA LUMPUR: Wushu exponent Diana Bong wants a memorable farewell in next month’s Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
It will be a special occasion as she will be performing for the gold medal in front of her mother Mary Liu and younger brother Gjeblehem, who is also in the team, in the wushu competition at KLCC on Aug 20-22.
"I have been in the team for 13 years and this will be the first time my mother will fly down from Sarawak to watch me compete,” said Diana, who is the team captain, in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
“My mother has never seen me training or perform, not even when Malaysia hosted the World Championships in 2013, where I won a gold medal.
“The Sea Games this time will be special and I hope not to disappoint her and the Malaysian fans.”
Diana will be competing in the nanquan and combined nandoa-nangun events in her sixth Sea Games appearance.
The 31-year-old won the nanquan-nandao combined event in her Sea Games debut in Thailand in 2007 and repeated her gold medal feat in the nangun-nandao combined event two years later in Laos.
In the 2011 Indonesia edition, she took only a bronze in the nandao-nangun event while compatriot Tai Cheau Xuan won the title.
In Myanmar in 2013, Diana clinched her third gold in nanquan while Cheau Xuen came out tops in nandao.
However, she had a disappointing outing in the 2015 Singapore edition by not winning a medal.
"There was only one event (nanquan) for me in Singapore and I did not do well.
"I will not make the same mistakes again. I hope my experience will help me handle the occasion well but I expect a very tough competition.
"My strongest opponent will be from Myanmar’s Myint Aye Thit Sar. She is the defending champion and also still young," added
Diana, the 2013 world meet gold medallist in the nandao and nangun events.
There is also a potential twin threat from Indonesians Juwita Niza Wasni and Ivana Ardelia Imanto - the respective gold and bronze medallists for women's nanquan from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.