KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's bronze medal winning diver Pandeelela Rinong Pamg is gaining much popularity among girls, to join swimming centers and hone their diving skills. The sport's popularity is at an all-time high in Malaysia and parents have told Bikyamasr.com that their daughters want to follow in the country's first-ever diving champion. “My daughter came to me this past week and said she wanted to be a diver,” one parent in Petaling Jaya told Bikyamasr.com. “It's because of what Pandelela did in London that is inspiring my daughter and others.” Whether the future of diving gains traction, Pandelela's success at the Olympics, earning a bronze in the high-dive, has been a catalyst, at least recently, to get young girls into the pool. Aeroswim Swimming Center founder and trainer Yulhaida Lubis noted that more women signed up for swimming lessons during the Olympic season. “Pandelela's historic achievement is not only an inspiration to my new female students but to all amateur swimmers and divers," she added in comments published by The Star. The diver, from Sarawak, was the first woman in the country to win a medal also became the first Malaysian to win a medal in a sport other than badminton. Lubis said she looked forward to more children taking up swimming, adding that the 19-year-old national diver might inspire them to emulate her success.
