AHMAD Amsyar Azman, 26, began diving at the age of 12 in his Perlis hometown. He was encouraged by his father, who was also an athlete.
Amsyar said his father felt that he could flourish in diving.
“He motivated me to look beyond Malaysia to train. My father and my family have been supportive of my career,” he told the New Sunday Times.
He received the National Schools Sports Council Best Sportsboy Award in 2007, after two years of being involved in diving. This led to him being named as “Sportsman of the Year” in the 2009 Sports Awards, which was bestowed by the Perlis Education Department.
Amsyar said qualifying for the Rio Olympics in Brazil was one of his biggest achievements to date, as it was the world’s biggest sports competition.
He said he learned to accept his widely-publicised belly flop, which occurs when a diver lands in the water on his stomach rather than the proper way.
“I was getting ready to jump and within seconds, by the power of Allah, a gush of wind came. It caused me take the wrong step. It pushed me. I chuckled and lost control.
“That was a historical moment for me. It gained international coverage throughout the event.”
He took the incident in his stride.
Last year, Amsyar redeemed himself by winning his first gold medal in his career in the 1m springboard individual in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
He scored 384 points in six attempts, beating another Malaysian diver, Ooi Tze Liang, who scored 368.6 points, and Singapore’s Mark Lee (350.55 points).
Amsyar said he was overwhelmed with emotion when he stood to sing Negaraku while the Jalur Gemilang was raised.
“To achieve that was not easy. We trained hard and the harder we train, the more meaningful it is when we hear our national anthem.
“When I heard the Negaraku, I was overcome with emotions. I cried,” he said.
He said the comments from people about his Rio Olympic belly flop incident only pushed him to work harder.
He took the criticisms positively knowing that many were looking up to him.
Small but talented
Perlis is Malaysia’s smallest state but it has its share of household names in sports.
Amsyar said he was proud to be an “Anak Jati Perlis” (Perlis lad) along side national long jumper Abdul Latif Romly and sprinter Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi from the Paralympics team, who are world-record holders.
“We know Perlis is small, but it is a relaxed place. That’s I how I think of myself as well.”
He said one of the things he loved about Perlis was its seafood.
He recommended anyone to try the grilled fish in Kuala Perlis and the Harum Manis mango.
Amsyar said his career had brought him to many places and he was always in awe of them.
One of his favourite destinations was Budapest, Hungary.
He described the country as beautiful and that his experiences there as mind blowing as everywhere he turned, he saw sceneries that he used to see in postcards.
The diving life
Amsyar is not only a professional athlete, but is also a Universiti Malaya Sports Science student.
He said he chose to study at the university because of his mother, who is pursuing music studies at the same varsity.
When asked why he took up Sports Sciences, he said he wanted to have more opportunities on what he can do in the future.
Amsyar is not the only one from the diving team studying on
the side. Two-time Olympic medallist Pandelela Rinong received her scroll on Oct 24.
Asked about his role models, Amsyar said Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie was someone he had looked up to before he met Pandelela. He met Despatie and took a photo with him in 2016 during his first junior championship in Bukit Jalil.
However, in the past few years, he said Pandelela was his No. 1 role model.
“Now, I have a new idol and I get to meet her everyday. I train with her too.
“She’s not only one the best divers in the world, she’s also a great friend,” he said.
In all seriousness, Amsyar said he could never choose one person over another when it came to his diving team.
“We are a family, we have brothers and sisters, as well as younger siblings who are a joy to be with.
“We are best friends.
“We have been together since we were young and we love one another.”
When asked the “magical question” — if he had any romantic links to any of the girls on his diving team, he answered in the negative.
“I regard them as my sisters.”
However, he did list down the characteristics he appreciated in a woman.
“She needs to be understanding, especially with the type of career I have. (She must be) cute and adorable. She doesn’t need to be pretty. A little shorter than me would be great too since I’m not tall,” he said.
Amsyar said a woman with a career was a plus point, as he believed that both people in a relationship should have their own careers.
“So whoever thinks they fit the description, hit me up, I’m still looking,” he said in jest.
Amsyar has caught the eye of female fans when photos of his muscular body first went viral two years back.
At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, a commentator was quoted as saying “He’s hot” as Amsyar took his place on the platform before diving.
Amsyar, who is a social media influencer, has more than 98,500 followers on his Instagram account @amsyaroo.