KUCHING: The RM50,000 incentive for diving queen Pandelela Rinong to win an Olympic gold medal still stands.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep, who personally pledged the incentive during Pandelela’s 23rd birthday in March, said Pandelela still has another event to compete which is the women’s individual 10m platform.
Pandelela, with her Perak-born diving partner Cheong Jun Hoong, bagged the country’s first medal at the games this morning (Aug 10).
They scored 344.34 in the women’s 10 metre platform synchronised diving event in Rio De Janeiro, fetching the silver medal for the event.
On August 18, she is scheduled to compete in the women’s individual 10m platform – a category which garnered her the bronze in the London Olympics four years ago.
“She has given her best and the community expects nothing less than the outstanding performance she has delivered to this point.
“My RM50,000 incentive, which I pledged to her early this year still stands and I will be watching her upcoming event with much anticipation,” he said.
Henry said he had promised the sum to her during her birthday on March 2 this year as an incentive for giving her best at the games.
He also said she carried the fighting spirit of the Bidayuh community and had roused them up into following the game closely.
“I believe she will do it…she has the ‘semangat’, the fighting spirit to do this and we are all placing high hopes on her to do this and make us proud.”
Pandelela who hails from Kampung Jugan in Bau, had previously been the first female Malaysian athlete to win an Olympic medal.
She finished third in the women’s individual 10m platform in the 2012 London Olympics.