The 41-year-old will join two other coaches, Christian Brooker and Li Teng, who are currently with the national squad.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) honorary secretary Mae Chen said Rui, who had trained several big names like former world champion Si Yajie and Olympic gold medallist Qin Kai, would assume duty after the Chinese New Year celebration.

“We are working on his visa. Hopefully, he will be able to come here after Chinese New Year,” she said after a working committee meeting with the National Sports Council (NSC) here today

Chen said Rui, who previously worked for a diving club in Canada, also trained Malaysia’s former coach, Zhao Wei.

She said Rui’s experience would be a boost to the national diving squad.

She was confident the three coaches could help the squad in their performance ahead of the Olympics qualifying campaign, starting with the World Championships in South Korea in July.

“We feel that all the coaches have their own strengths. We hope they pool their capabilities together so our divers benefit from it,” Chen said.

Rui’s appointment follows the departure of China’s Zhang Yukun, who decided to return home last December to take up a new coaching offer.