WHEN the London Olympics reviews are done, Yeoh Ken Nee will be in the category of success stories for Malaysia.
The diver capped his career by finishing 10th in the 3m springboard final at the Aquatic Centre on Tuesday, a journey which started 19 years ago when he first took up the sport as a 10-year-old.Throughout his career there have been ups and downs and a regret for Ken Nee is that the London Olympics were only his second, having had to wait 12 years after his debut in Sydney 2000 to feature again on the highest stage of world sports.
But the wait had been worth it, for Ken Nee fulfilled his personal target of making the 3m springboard final, a first for a Malaysian diver at the Olympics.
Among his admirers was Malaysian chef-de-mission Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, who praised Ken Nee's dedication and discipline.
"He is a model for all athletes and I would rate him as one of Malaysia's success stories at the London Olympics. Qualifying for the final was hard enough and then having to compete against the world's best was a massive challenge.
"Ken Nee may have only finished 10th but we can be proud of him, especially as he beat Canada's three-time world champion (Alexander Despatie)," said Ahmad Sarji.
In fact, Ken Nee's final finish could have been higher if not for a poor third dive, which resulted in a mere 49.50 points for an eventual total of 437.45 points from six dives. His other scores were 79.05, 78.20, 79.20, 76.50 and 75.00. Had he managed a 75-plus score in his third, Ken Nee could have finished as high as seventh.
Gold was won by Russian Ilya Zakharov with 555.90 points while China took silver and bronze through Qin Kai (541.75) and He Chong (524.15) respectively.
For Ken Nee, this is the end although there are efforts to convince him to continue diving competitively.
"I have had enough as for 19 years, diving is all that I have been doing. I am 29 and it is time for me to explore other avenues," said Ken Nee.
Coaching, obviously, is one of them and Ken Nee admitted he was excited at that prospect.
"Currently, most of the coaches we have are foreigners and the feeling is that the time has come for Malaysians to be groomed as well. I have been asked to consider coaching and I am willing but for a start, I want to work with young divers."
Diving can be a terribly lonely sport with the top national divers sent regularly to China for extended training stints and who better than Ken Nee, who has two decades of experience, to prepare young children for the commitment and sacrifices needed to make it at the highest levels.
Ken Nee's pinnacle will be the 3m springboard final but his hope is that the day will come when a diver trained by him wins an Olympic medal.
Meanwhile, Pandalela Rinong was involved in the women's 10m platform preliminary round late yesterday with the top 18 to progress to today's semi-final.
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