KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) and Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) have started their fast track programme to develop divers for the 2028 Los Angeles and 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
NSC deputy director general Jefri Ngadirin disclosed that after conducting talent identification (TID) initiatives across the country, led by MAS technical director Bryan Nickson Lomas, 16 divers have been selected for the fast track programme.
"There have been a lot of structural changes made since Bryan came in as technical director and we are starting to see improvements," said Jefri recently.
"The states are more active now which is important. Unlike sports such as athletics, cycling and archery, the participation numbers in diving and also gymnastics is very small at the grassroots, thus these sports need more attention.
"We have conducted TID and have identified 16 young divers to be in the fast track programme. They are between 10 to 12 years old.
"These are the divers that we are developing for LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032. They will replace senior divers such as Pandelela Rinong and Ooi Tze Liang."
Initially 30 promising divers were invited to train at Bukit Jalil before the final-16 were selected.
The fast track programme is part of NSC and Mas' 2024-2028 blueprint to expedite the development of talent in the sport which has suffered a slow but steady decline over the past decade.
Bryan and Khairul Safwan Mansur (high performance director), who are both former national divers, were brought in last year (Sept) to help revive the sport.
A number of new coaches have also been signed to lower the athletes-to-coaches ratio in the national elite and backup squads.