TIME is certainly not on her side, but former world champion Cheong Jun Hoong is not throwing in the towel just yet.
She is still focused on qualifying for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
At 30, Jun Hoong is considered a senior diver in the sport as many retire in their late 20s.
However, the Ipoh-born, who has not had competitive action for more than two years, is a fighter, and she hopes to overcome the setbacks and make the Olympic cut through next year's World Cup in Tokyo.
Jun Hoong made her comeback in training last November, but her progress has been brought to a halt by the global Covid-19 situation.
She even mulled retirement when all tournaments were called off or postponed due to the pandemic.
But whilst frustrated, Jun Hoong is not planning to retire anytime soon and will continue to work hard ahead of the World Cup.
"I had thought of retiring, but that is normal when you feel frustrated or face problems as we are humans after all," Jun Hoong told Bernama on Friday.
"I still want to compete, and that is the spirit I have as an athlete.
"However, in order to compete, I have to make sure that I am in the best of shape for assignments.
"I also hope that my past experiences would help me out during competitions."
The slightly positive news for Jun Hoong is that the World Cup, the last Olympic qualifying event, has been postponed from Feb 23-28 to April 18-23.
That should allow Jun Hoong more breathing space in the race against time, although it remains to be seen how she would actually perform in a competition.
The 2016 Olympics silver medallist is expected to make her competitive return in December. She will compete in a virtual competition organised by Malaysia Swimming (MS).
The virtual dive meet, which is the first of its kind, will feature athletes from countries with similar time zones such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
If everything goes to plan, Jun Hoong will also travel to Germany for a World GP event.