| By Lin Xinyi | ||
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Wu Dongliang with the Asian Youth Games' first gold medal at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex yesterday. The Hubei native, who won two golds and a bronze at last year's world junior championships, is already tipped to be an Olympic star. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI |
THE time was 4.22pm.
On the 3m springboard, Chinese diver Wu Dongliang was a picture of calm.
Then, a forward 2-1/2 somersault and a twist-pike later, he emerged from the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex pool as the first gold medallist of the inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG).
His coronation took place at the victory ceremony shortly after, but it might as well have been done yesterday morning.
The moment his 1.63-metre frame entered the water after his first dive during the preliminary round, it was clear that Dongliang, 16, was a cut above the other nine competitors.
When the preliminaries ended after 10 dives, his score of 599.50 was 103.40 more than that of his nearest rival and eventual bronze medallist Cho Sung In of South Korea.
His score was also more than double that of Oman's Al Masroori Salim, who finished last in the preliminaries.
Even though the scores of only the first five dives were carried forward to the final, Dongliang still held a healthy lead over his nine other counterparts.
Not that he took notice.
'I wasn't paying attention to the scores. I looked up only to see how I fared after each of my dives,' said the Shanghai-based Hubei native, whose final total score was a massive 626.60, well ahead of Kuwait's runner-up Rashed Alharbi.
'I was concentrating on my technique and what I needed to do. My biggest opponent is still myself.'
His single-mindedness is perhaps a reason why he was not aware that he had become the Games' first winner.
Kuwait's Rashed Alharbi finished in second place.
Dongliang told The Straits Times: 'I would have been happy with a gold - never mind the first gold of the Games.
'The news hasn't sunk in yet. I'm not sure how to react to it.'
But he is hoping that the ripple effects of his triumph will help him break into the national team and compete in the Olympics one day.
Already, his performances at the Fina World Junior Diving Championships in Germany last September have caught the attention of the Chinese media.
Competing in the 14- to 15-year-old age group, he beat British Beijing Olympian Tom Daley to win gold in the 3-metre springboard.
He also took gold in the 1-metre springboard and a bronze in the 10m platform.
In only his third international appearance yesterday, he again showed his pedigree, drawing loud applause from the 100-strong crowd which included China's chef de mission Cui Dalin and budding local divers.
Lok Xin Min, a 15-year-old member of the Singapore diving squad, said: 'Watching Dongliang in action is a real treat. It was very inspiring.'
Dongliang's teammate Liu Jiao, 15, took gold in the girls' platform. North Korea's Sin Ji Hyang bagged the silver, while South Korea's Yun Seung Eun claimed bronze.
China will be looking to complete a sweep of the titles when the girls' 3m springboard and boys' platform finals take place today.
They can count on Dongliang, who plans to spend the rest of his time in Singapore getting a tan, for his support.
He said: 'My priority now is to cheer my teammates on. They supported me today, now it's my turn to do the cheering.'
