KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian diving has lost the plot after a series of wrong decisions, and the sport's future looks bleak despite Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) identifying areas for improvement ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
To hail Malaysia's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign as a success after winning one silver and two bronzes, against a target of one bronze, is pathetic and unacceptable.
The results were nothing to shout about for a nation that was once Asia's second-best diving power behind China.
Instead, Malaysia finished fourth in the diving medal standings, behind champions China (10-4-2), South Korea (0-2-3) and Japan (0-2-2).
There was a time when Malaysia produced a world champion and Olympic medallists.
Today, Malaysian divers are struggling even at Asian level.
MAS diving technical director Yeoh Ken Nee said greater difficulty, sharper execution and consistency would be crucial ahead of next year's World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, which will run from June 26-July 18.
"Our next major target is the Olympic qualification for LA28, and the qualification period is already approaching quickly," said Ken Nee.
"We have around eight months to prepare, so it will be a challenging period for the divers and the coaching team."
The World Championships will open the Olympic qualification pathway, with top-eight finishes in individual events offering an early route to LA28.
Ken Nee admitted that Malaysia must improve further in the individual events, particularly on the platform, to compete with the leading nations.
"Our divers need to perform more dynamic and stronger dives, with higher difficulty and better execution," he said.
"These are the areas we need to focus on if we want to score higher and close the gap with the leading countries internationally."
Ken Nee said the focus must now shift towards raising the divers' competitive level.
China remain the benchmark, but he stressed that Malaysia's priority was to improve their own performances.
"Our focus now is not just on comparing ourselves with China. We need to continue raising the standard of our own divers, particularly in difficulty, execution and consistency," he said.
Ken Nee also sees promise in the synchro events, provided the divers can minimise mistakes.
"When our divers can execute their dives consistently with minimum mistakes, we can be competitive and challenge for medals," he added.
LA28 will offer 136 diving places across eight events, comprising four individual and four synchronised disciplines.
After Budapest, the qualification pathway will continue through continental competitions before concluding with the first two Diving World Cup stops in 2028.
Those World Cup meets will determine the synchro qualifiers, with hosts the United States receiving automatic places.
They will also provide further opportunities to qualify in the individual events.
For Malaysia, Budapest offers the first chance to secure individual berths, while the pairs must build towards their decisive qualifying tests in 2028.
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