Leong Mun Yee (left) is pictured with frequent diving partner Pandelela Rinong.– Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Former national diver Leong Mun Yee still has unfinished business with Malaysia Swimming (MS) despite retiring from the sport yesterday.
Mun Yee said she will be around to help coach younger divers in Bukit Jalil here, starting next week.
“I will still be with the team because MS have asked me to help them out due to shortage of coach, until the new coach arrives soon,” she said when contacted by Bernama today.
Mun Yee said she had no regrets calling it a day after having dedicated most of her life to diving.
“I never thought I could stay (in the sport) for 27 years but I set my target each time. I feel it’s worth it (the sacrifice), no regrets at all,” she added.
She now wants to focus on finishing her Master of Corporate Communication at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
On her plan to set up a diving academy, Mun Yee said it was still in the pipeline and hoped it would go smoothly.
Mun Yee’s last appearance was in Tokyo Olympics last year, where she partnered diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong in the women’s 10m platform synchronised event.
However, it was not a remarkable outing as they finished eighth and last in the final.
Mun Yee, who started diving at 10, is among the most successful national divers, having bagged numerous medals, including silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea and two golds at the 2017 KL SEA Games.
She is also the first Malaysian diver, together with Pandelela, to win a bronze medal in women’s 10m synchronised platform at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy, and has earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records as the first local female athlete to qualify for four Olympics in 2012.
Badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei and sailor Kelvin Lim are the only other Malaysians to have competed in four Olympic Games. — Bernama