Great chance for Pandelela to top Diving World Series

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-crowned National Sportswoman for 2011 Pandelela Rinong could break new ground when she competes in the final round of the FINA Diving World Series in Tijuana, Mexico, this weekend. Reigning Olympic champion Chen Ruolin and her World Championships silver medallist team-mate Hu Yadan are conspicuously missing from the list of entries for the women’s 10m platform individual. This paves the way for Pandelela to become the overall winner of the prestigious series, which is exclusive to the top eight divers in the world, for the first time. Pandelela will bag the overall title for the 10m platform individual if she can finish second this weekend. Ruolin leads the standings after three rounds with 54 points while Pandelela is second on 40, two more than Yadan. But she faces stiff competition from Mexico’s Paola Espinosa, the 2009 world champion, and Iulia Prokopchuk, the Ukrainian who finished with silver ahead of Yadan in Moscow last weekend. Espinosa, who is in fifth place with 26 points, can capture the overall title if she wins the gold and will be banking on home ground advantage while the Canadian duo of Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion will also be making a strong push. The top three podium spots are worth 18, 16 and 14 points respectively. Malaysia are second in the 10m platform synchro, but Pandelela-Leong Mun Yee can only hope to finish second overall at best, as Ruolin is competing with regular partner Wang Hao. After three rounds, China lead comfortably with 81 points ahead of Canada (66) and Malaysia (63). Fatigue will be a big factor in Pandelela’s chase for glory in the Mexican city. Pandelela, who only left last night on the 21-hour journey to join Mun Yee for the series finale, said the back sprain suffered before the Beijing round is still troubling her. “It affected me a bit in Moscow but the National Sports Institute masseur is accompanying me and I hope it will help. “It’s a very long journey and I will only have half a day to practise as competition starts on Friday. The 10m platform individual is on the first day and I don’t have the advantage of proper rest unlike the others, who left for Tijuana a few days earlier. “It will be tiring but I want to do well to maintain my rankings for next year,” said Pandelela, who has yet to miss out on the podium this year. Pandelela bagged bronze in the 10m platform individual and partnered Mun Yee to silver in the synchro in the opening leg in Dubai. She claimed another bronze in the following round in Beijing. She missed out with fourth place in the individual event in Moscow last weekend but rebounded to clinch the 10m platform synchro bronze with Mun Yee the next day.