KUALA LUMPUR: Diver Syafiq Puteh said he and his national teammates need to keep their feet on the ground in next month's Sea Games though they are the favourites.
Malaysia, the diving heavyweights in the region, swept all the eight gold medals at stake in the 2021 Hanoi Sea Games.
This time, the diving team are expected to deliver three gold, three silver and two bronze in Phnom Penh with Syafiq leading the gold hunt.
"I thank Malaysian Swimming (MS) and the coaches for the opportunity to compete in the Sea Games. They have set a target for me to win gold medals," said Syafiq, the most senior diver in the team at the age of 28.
"For me, the pressure is still there, those competing are not some unknown athletes. Thailand have good divers in their team and Singapore divers are also not bad.
"I don't want to think too highly about abilities or records, I still need to do my best to win medals.'
Syafiq added that he has been preparing well, and last week's Malaysia Invitational Age Group Championships had been a good platform for him to hone his skill.