KUALA LUMPUR: When it comes to medals, very little is expected from national swimmers and divers at the Paris Olympics from July 26-Aug 11.
That is because both sports are currently undergoing a rebuilding phase after suffering a slow, yet, gradual decline over the past decade.
Malaysian diving, which contributed medals at London 2012 (one bronze) and Rio 2016 (one silver), fared poorly at the Doha World Championships at the start of the year which also doubled up as an Olympic qualifier.
Seniors such as Pandelela Rinong, Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Ooi Tze Liang and Wendy Ng failed to qualify on merit.
Only Bertrand Rhodict Lises, who secured his Paris ticket at last year's Fukuoka World Championships, qualified on merit in the men's 10m platform individual.
He will have Dhabitah for company in Paris as she also got a berth after World Aquatics gave Malaysia an additional quota for the women's 3m springboard individual last month.
It will be Malaysia's smallest diving squad to the Olympics since Sydney 2000.
Rhodict, 19, is expected to make the final in Paris.
However, finishing on the podium will be tough for him as his dive difficulty (DD) levels are not yet on par with the leading contenders.
He has been working hard on his DD in training camps in Singapore and Australia recently.
Dhabitah, 25, came close to winning a medal at Tokyo 2020 where she finished fourth in the 3m springboard individual final.
Injuries have hampered her performances, including the last two editions of the world championships, but she is now back to full fitness.
While Dhabitah's recent form has not been the best, it would be foolhardy to write off her chances as she is vastly experienced and is one of the most versatile divers of her generation.
In swimming, Khiew Hoe Yean and youngster Tan Rouxin will make their Olympic debuts in Paris after both received universality places, better known as wild cards.
Rouxin and Hoe Yean will be looking to better their personal bests in Paris though challenging for medals is unlikely at this point.
Hoe Yean, 22, will compete in the men's 400m freestyle and is the current national record holder in the event, clocking three minutes, 48.35 seconds at the Australian championships in April.
His timing, however, is some way off the 3:42.71s clocked by Kim Woo Min of South Korea en route to gold at the Doha World Championships, so there is plenty of work to do if Hoe Yean is to trouble the big guns in Paris.
Rouxin, 18, who will compete in the women's 100m breaststroke in Paris, has a personal best of 1:11.02s in the discipline.
Again, this is some way off the gold medal-winning time of 1:05.27s set by Tan Qian Ting of China at the Doha World Championships.
Rouxin will, however, be bouyed by her record-breaking performances at the recent National Short Course Championships where she set new standards in the 200m and 400m individual medley events.