Malaysia wins historic gold medal
Published on: Friday, July 21, 2017
Kuala Lumpur: National elite diver Cheong Jun Hoong (pic) created history after becoming the first ever Malaysian athlete to secure the gold medal at the International Swimming Federation (Fina) World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday (Thursday in Malaysia).The 27-year-old Perakian, who is one half member of the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist with Pandelela Rinong, scored 397.50 points in the women's 10m platform individual to ensure the national anthem 'Negaraku' was played at the Duna Arena.Former world champion, Si Yajie of China, grabbed the silver medal with 396.00 points, while her fellow teammate, Ren Qian, who is the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist, had to settle for bronze medal after amassing 391.95 points, according to Fina website www.fina.org.
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Pandelela only managed to finish in ninth place out of 12 divers with a total score of 322.40 points.For the record, Jun Hoong and Pandelela won the bronze medal in the women's 10m platform synchronised event in the 17th edition of the meet on Sunday.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Thursday congratulated national diver Jun Hoong for her historic feat."Congratulations @cheongjunhoong! First world champion #Negaraku in the Women's Platform event at #FinaBudapest2017," said Najib on his Twitter, Thursday.
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Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi regarded Jun Hoong's victory as a national pride.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"History is created and is a national pride. Thank you national athletes," he said on his Twitter.
