KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — After missing out on competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, national diver Ooi Tze Liang is plotting to make a comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Although he admitted there is little room for improvement in diving techniques, the soon-to-be 30-year-old hopes to maintain his consistency ahead of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha next February, which offers a slot to the Olympics.
“The top 18 divers in the men’s 3 metre (m) springboard event will not only compete in the semi-final but also qualify for the next Olympic Games.
“There will be only four spots up for grabs in the men’s 3m springboard synchronised event. So, I think the individual event might be easier to qualify for,” he told the press at the 2023 Malaysia Open Diving Championships today.
The only time Ooi competed at the Olympics was during his debut in the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He is expected to continue his partnership with Muhammad Syafiq Puteh in the men’s 3m springboard synchronised event at the Doha meet.
Asked about his combination with Muhammad Syafiq, the Penang-born athlete said it was going well so far, especially after both clinched the bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Ooi had lived up to expectations when he accumulated 418.80 points to be crowned the men’s 3m springboard champion at the Malaysia Open Diving Championships 2023 held in National Aquatic Centre, Bukit Jalil, earlier today.
Vyacheslav Kachanov from Uzbekistan picked up the silver with 379.05 points, while national diver Yong Rui Jie won the bronze after picking 368.15 points.
In the women’s 10m platform event, Sarawak diver Nurul Farisya Affendi collected 212.15 points for a surprise win over 2023 South-East Asian (SEA) Games champion Lee Yiat Qing, who had to settle for silver with 197.30 points.
Nurul Farisya, 14, expressed her joy in today’s result, as she did not expect to outperform the national diver during the first day of the event, which will end on Monday (November 6).
— Bernama
