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Bryan leaving MAS for coaching job abroad as exodus continues

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) has lost another key personnel following the resignation of diving technical director Bryan Nickson Lomas.

MAS secretary Andy Low earlier today (Jan 29) confirmed that Bryan has tendered his resignation and his last day of service will be on Feb 22.

When contacted today, Bryan, who is equally adept at coaching, disclosed that he has received an offer from abroad.

"I will be leaving Malaysia for a coaching job. I received the offer in December and decided to take on a new challenge," said Bryan.

MAS had brought in Bryan as well Khairul Safwan Mansur as high-performance manager in Oct 2023 in a bid to revive the sport after declining performances from the national team in recent years.

Khairul had left MAS earlier in July to join his family business.

During their time with MAS the duo, who are both former national divers, conducted education courses for coaches and also identified coaches to strengthen the national programme.

They also worked hard to revive state diving programmes across Malaysia, many of which had become dormant over the past decade.

Bryan also oversaw the implementation of the Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) system to ensure that divers are adequately prepared for international competitions as well as the fast track programme to expedite the development of promising junior divers.

The 34-year-old said he is proud of his work during his time with MAS, which includes establishing a structure to help elevate and develop the sport in the country.

"Before this, a solid structure (to develop the sport) was missing," he added.

"But with the help of MAS, the National Sports Council (NSC) and the National Sports Institute, we created a framework to help the sport flourish in the future."

Malaysian diving suffered its lowest point in recent decades when only one diver — Bertrand Rhodict Lises — secured direct qualification on merit to last year's Paris Olympics.

Bryan's departure is another setback for Malaysian diving as former national diver Wendy Ng also left the Federal Territories programme to join Singapore as their talent development coach recently.

Numerous Malaysian coaches in a variety of sports have also left Malaysia for other countries in recent years after receiving lucrative offers abroad.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh earlier this week expressed her concern with the trend but admitted that there is currently little she can do to stop them from moving.

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