Abdul Karim speaking at the press conference. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (Aug 7): For national diver Pandelela Rinong to be in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’s Women’s 10m Platform final is already a big achievement, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“You can see (Pandelela) from the preliminary rounds, and then to the (semifinals) and then made it through to the finals — that is a very big achievement. As a Sarawakian and as Malaysians, we are very proud of her achievement.
“I’m so happy to see that despite losing in Tokyo, she is still in high spirits and wants to go for the next Olympics at Paris in 2024. That is the kind of spirit that we want — that ‘agi idup agi ngelaban’ spirit,” he said at a press conference held at the Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre here today.
Before reaching the 2024 Paris Olympics, Abdul Karim expressed his belief that Pandelela will represent Sarawak in other sports events such as the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the Commonwealth Games, hoping that she can come up with podium finishes.
Looking at Pandelela’s current age at 28 years, Abdul Karim pointed out that looking at her age is not of concern and that what is important is her spirit.
“For me, age is not that important. We should not look at Pandelela’s current age at 28 and consider her too old for that.
“You must have that spirit, such as the lady who competed in Gymnastics (in her 40s). I was surprised to see her (competing) with other gymnasts who are only 15-16 years old. Although she did not make it to the preliminary rounds, but with her spirit she successfully represented her country in eight Olympic games,” he said, referring to Uzbekistan’s ageless wonder Oksana Chusovitina.
“We will always be supportive, as far as Pandelela is concerned. She has her university degree and she already got a mark on her name. I think on her career, we do not have to worry — any state or nation would love to take her in as a (diving) coach,” he added.
Pandelela ended up last among the 12 finalists during the Tokyo Olympics’s Women’s 10m Platform final on Thursday (Aug 5).
Following a poorly executed first dive, she only scored 18.00 for the forward 3 1/2 somersaults. However, she bounced back with scores of 71.05 for the second dive, 60.80 (third dive) and 52.80 (fourth dive) before ending her five-dive routine with 43.20 points.
China’s Quan Hongchan, 14, and Chen Yuxi, 15, took home gold and silver medals respectively with runaway scores of 466.20 and 425.40 points while Australian Melissa Wu (371.40) settled for bronze.