WELCOME HOME: Pandelela smiles during her arrival at the Kuching International Airport yesterday. The Olympic bronze medallist arrives with two other state Olympians Bryan Nickson Lomas and Traisy Vivien Tukiet.
KUCHING: Despite the impressive bronze medal feat of diving queen Pandelela Rinong Pamg at the 2012 London Olympics, the state is currently short of divers with world class potentials.
Social Development Minister Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom when asked by reporters on the matter yesterday agreed that more efforts needed to be taken to improve the aquatic facilities statewide to raise training standards for divers and swimmers here.
The below-par showing of the state divers in the last three Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka somehow added weight to the claims.
However, Pandelela’s 18-year-old brother Indoma Pardika did win gold in the Sukma XV in Kuantan this year.
“At the moment, we do not have facilities that are up-to-date. The existing diving training facilities at Stampark, BDC Stampin was considered not good enough. We are going to upgrade this.
“The present one is sub-standard, not for international meets and such. The state is going to build an Olympic standard world class aquatics centre at the state stadium area,” said Mawan when met after officiating at the homecoming luncheon and incentive presentation ceremony for the state’s three Olympians at the Civic Centre here.
He added that the state will soon shift to top gear on plans to build its Olympic standard aquatics centre to ensure that it will not suffer from athletics-drain in the future to replace the likes of Pandelela, Bryan Nickson Lomas and Traisy Vivien Tukiet.
“We will definitely have one aquatics centre with Olympic standard facilities for the swimming and diving events.
Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom
“The state is rushing to finalise the project considering that it will host Sukma in four years time,” continued Mawan while adding that the project might begin implementation as early as next month.
He stated that the lack of world class divers coming through the ranks can also be contributed to the sub-standard existing facilities.
When touching on the newly built state-of-the-art aquatics centre at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce which was deemed below par in diving facility standards, Mawan mentioned that it was built to a certain standard then and that only now the facilities was touted not to have met Olympic standard.
A review will be made whether the facility will be upgraded despite the state putting high focus on completing its new aquatics centre at the stadium area, Petra Jaya near here.
It was reported in The Borneo Post yesterday that Assistant Minister of Sports Datuk Lee Kim Shin revealed the state already has strategic plans to construct and upgrade all sports facilities in the state including the building of aquatics centres statewide.
He mentioned that some of the existing facilities needed to be upgraded to give the best for all its athletes especially for their Sukma preparation. All these to ensure continued success in sports especially aquatics in particular.