Cheong Jun Hoong () (born 16 April 1990) is a Malaysian diver. 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 The 17th FINA World Championships ( hu, 2017-es úszó-világbajnokság) were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

, she became Malaysia's first diving world champion after winning the 10m platform event.

Early and personal life

Cheong Jun Hoong was born in

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

. She is the daughter of Cheong Sun Meng and Leow Lai Kuan. She has a younger sister. Her fascination in aquatics began at the age of four. At age nine, she started her training in

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

with

's state coach
Zhou Xiyang
In 2004, she was offered a place at the

Bukit Jalil Sports School The Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) ( ms, Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil, SSBJ) is the first sports school in Malaysia. The school is located at the National Sports Complex compound in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil was ope ...

. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications from

Universiti Putra Malaysia University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University o ...

Career

Cheong won a bronze medal in 1m springboard at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

. She made her Olympic debut at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

where she finished 20th in 3m springboard and eighth in 3m synchronized springboard with Pandelela Rinong. Cheong represented

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, 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 The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

in Incheon, she won a silver medal in 3m synchro springboard with

Ng Yan Yee Wendy Ng Yan Yee (born 11 July 1993) is a Malaysian diver. Career Early beginning Ng begin diving at the age of 13 at Bandar Tun Razak Swimming Pool. She was a rhythmic gymnast but her talent was spotted by the national coach, Yang Zhulian ...

. 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 A Diving Grand Prix in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sara ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

. 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 Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

after withdrawing from the

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

and Windsor legs of the 2017 FINA Diving World Series earlier. 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 The 17th FINA World Championships ( hu, 2017-es úszó-világbajnokság) were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, pipping her closest rival by just 1.5 points. 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. 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 Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

alongside two reigning world champions cyclist

Azizulhasni Awang Dato' Muhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang (born 5 January 1988) is a Malaysian professional track cyclist. Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he is the first and the only Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the Summer Oly ...

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. 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 after getting."Jun Hoong, Malaysia's first world champion diver, calls time on her breakthrough career"
''

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

''. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

Awards

* OCM-Coca-Cola Olympian Award: 2016 * National Sportswoman of the Year: 2017

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(A.M.N.) (2017)

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheong, Jun Hoong 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Ipoh Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent Malaysian female divers University of Putra Malaysia alumni Olympic divers for Malaysia Divers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Divers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Divers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Divers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in diving Divers at the 2010 Asian Games Divers at the 2014 Asian Games Olympic silver medalists for Malaysia Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in diving Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving Commonwealth Games medallists in diving Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia SEA Games gold medalists for Malaysia SEA Games silver medalists for Malaysia SEA Games bronze medalists for Malaysia SEA Games medalists in diving Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Competitors at the 2007 SEA Games Competitors at the 2011 SEA Games Competitors at the 2013 SEA Games Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games 21st-century Malaysian women Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games