Cheong Jun Hoong

Cheong Jun Hoong 张俊虹
Personal information
Full nameCheong Jun Hoong
NicknameJun
NationalityMalaysian
Born (1990-04-16) 16 April 1990 (age 34)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Height1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)[1]
Sport
CountryMalaysia
Event(s)10 m, 10 m synchro, 3 m, 1 m
PartnerPandelela Rinong
Coached byYang Zhuliang
RetiredJanuary 4, 2022[2]
Medal record
Representing  Malaysia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10 m synchro platform
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Budapest 10 m platform
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Budapest 10 m synchro platform
FINA Diving World Series
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montreal 10 m synchro platform
FINA Diving World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2014 Shanghai 10 m synchro platform
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10 m synchro platform
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon 3 m synchro springboard
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 1 m springboard
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon 3 m springboard
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 10 m synchro platform
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima 10 m synchro platform
Gold medal – first place 2011 Palembang 3 m springboard
Gold medal – first place 2013 Naypyidaw 3 m springboard
Gold medal – first place 2013 Naypyidaw 3 m synchro springboard
Gold medal – first place 2015 Singapore 3 m springboard
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur 1 m springboard
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima 10 m platform
In this Chinese name, the family name is Cheong.

Cheong Jun Hoong (Chinese: 張俊虹; pinyin: Zhāng Jùnhóng) AMN (born 16 April 1990) is a retired Malaysian diver.[3] She won a silver medal in the synchronised 10m platform event with Pandelela Rinong at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, she became Malaysia's first diving world champion after winning the 10m platform event.[4]

Early and personal life

Cheong Jun Hoong was born in Ipoh, Perak. She is the daughter of Cheong Sun Meng and Leow Lai Kuan.[5] She has a younger sister. Her fascination in aquatics began at the age of four. At age nine, she started her training in diving with Perak's state coach, Zhou Xiyang. In 2004, she was offered a place at the Bukit Jalil Sports School. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Career

Cheong won a bronze medal in 1m springboard at the 2010 Asian Games. She made her Olympic debut at the 2012 London Olympics where she finished 20th in 3m springboard and eighth in 3m synchronized springboard with Pandelela Rinong.

Cheong represented Malaysia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she competed in the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m events. She placed 8th in the 1 m event, 12th in the 3 m event, 5th in the 3 m synchronised event, 6th in the 10 m event and 4th in the 10 m synchro event with partner Leong Mun Yee, narrowly losing the bronze medal to fellow athletes Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, she won a silver medal in 3m synchro springboard with Ng Yan Yee. She also won a bronze medal in individual 3m event.

In August 2016, she participated at the Rio Summer Olympics in the 3m platform, 10m synchronized platform with Pandelela Rinong and 3m synchronized springboard with Nur Dhabitah Sabri. She won her first Olympic medal, a silver in the 10m synchronized platform with a final score of 344.34. However, she did not qualify for the final of the 3m event. She placed 5th in the 3m synchro event. Due to her persisting back pain, in October 2016 she withdrew from the 2016 FIN[6] A Diving Grand Prix in Kuching, Sarawak.[7]

In June 2017, Cheong returned from a back injury to win the bronze medal in the 1m springboard event at the 7th Asian Diving Cup in Macau after withdrawing from the Kazan and Windsor legs of the 2017 FINA Diving World Series earlier.[8] Cheong became Malaysia's first diving World Champion, when she took home the gold medal in the 10m platform event in the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, pipping her closest rival by just 1.5 points.[9] Four of the seven judges gave a perfect 10 on her best dive in the competition, and she finished with an overall score of 397.5.[4] She also won a bronze in the 10m synchronized 10 platform event with Pandelela Rinong with a total score of 328.74.

Cheong was chosen as one of the flag-bearers for Malaysia at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games alongside two reigning world champions cyclist Azizulhasni Awang and silat exponent Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari.

Retirement

On 4 January 2022, Cheong announced her retirement after her contract as a full-time athlete with the National Sports Council and Malaysia Swimming was not renewed.[2] One of the reasons Cheong provided for her retirement was a second knee injury she acquired in 2018 and had not been able to re-achieve a certain level of performance since then.[10]

Awards

  • OCM-Coca-Cola Olympian Award: 2016[11]
  • National Sportswoman of the Year: 2017[12]

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References

  1. ^ "Cheong Jun Hoong". Kuala Lumpur 2017. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Former diving world champ Jun Hoong retires". New Straits Times. 4 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Cheong Jun Hoong". 2012 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b Paul Newberry (21 July 2017). "Cheong gives Malaysia first gold ever at world aquatics meet". Associated Press. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  5. ^ Sylvia Looi (2 September 2016). "Quiet welcome for Olympic medallist Jun Hoong". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  6. ^ Iylia Aziz (22 August 2016). "2016 Is Malaysia's Best Olympic Record Yet—With Perfect Timing For Our 59th Merdeka Day". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. ^ Ajitpal Singh (20 October 2016). "Diving: Injury forces Jun Hoong out of World GP Kuching leg". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  8. ^ Ajitpal Singh (17 June 2017). "Dhabitah, Jun Hoong on podium in Asian Diving Cup". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Cheong Jun Hoong Malaysia pips China in 10m platform for historic gold". Pulse News Agency International for AFP. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Jun Hoong, Malaysia's first world champion diver, calls time on her breakthrough career". FINA. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Chong Wei, Pandelela-Jun Hoong picked as 2016 OCM-Coca-Cola Olympian award winners". The Malay Mail Online. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  12. ^ Aida Adilah Mat (14 March 2018). "Azizulhasni, Jun Hoong honoured at National Sports Awards [NSTTV]". New Straits Times. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  13. ^ Rajes Paul (10 September 2017). "Chong Wei all fired up". The Star. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2018.