China survive scare to win men’s 10m synchro gold at World Aquatics Championships
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China's Cheng Zilong (right) and Zhu Zifeng in action during the WAC Men's 10m Synchronised Diving final on July 29.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
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- Chinese divers Zhu Zifeng and Cheng Zilong narrowly won gold in the men's 10m synchronised with 429.63 points, just 0.93 ahead of Russia, maintaining China's winning streak since 2015.
- The Chinese pair recovered from a poor fourth dive, relying on trust and maintaining a "normal mindset" to execute a final dive that secured the victory, despite pressure.
- Chen Yiwen and Chen Jia won gold in the women's 3m synchronised with 325.20 points, though Yiwen admitted struggling with motivation post-Paris Olympics, seeking new goals.
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SINGAPORE – Zhu Zifeng and Cheng Zilong knew China’s winning streak dating back to 2015 was on the line when they stepped onto the platform at the OCBC Aquatic Centre for the final dive of the men’s 10m synchronised final on July 29.
A poor fourth dive meant they needed a massive effort to deliver their country’s seventh diving gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, as they trailed Russian neutral athletes Nikita Shleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi.
Under full pressure, they duly nailed it, scoring 90.72 to claim the gold by just 0.93 of a point and ensure China’s continued dominance.
Zhu and Cheng bagged the title with 429.63 points against the Russians’ 428.70 while the United States’ Carson Tyler and Joshua Hedberg (410.70) rounded off the podium. Singapore’s Max Lee and Ayden Ng were 18th of 20 in the preliminaries with 300.09 points and did not make the eight-pair final.
Cheng said: “There was pressure before the last dive. But it was more about maintaining a normal mindset because by doing that, you actually better control your body’s movements and are able to perform your skills well.”
Things appeared to be going according to script in the opening three rounds, with China looking on track to secure their seventh straight world title in the event.
That was until a poor fourth dive – a reverse 3½ somersaults tuck – threatened to derail their hopes.
While their previous dives had elicited cheers from the stands, the crowd was notably quieter after that display. The score of 60.18 saw Zhu and Cheng drop to third behind the Russians and Japanese divers Shu Ohkubo and Rikuto Tamai.
The Chinese rebounded from the setback but still trailed the consistent Russians by 13.11 points going into the final round.
Shleikher and Ternovoi, having qualified second, went first and scored 76.68. And the Chinese, needing 89.79 to tie for the gold with the same dive – back 2½ somersaults with 2½ twists pike with a degree of difficulty of 3.6 – rose to the challenge.
Reflecting on the fourth dive, Zhu said: “Maybe I was thinking too much. For this particular move, my error rate is quite high in regular training, so when I’m in competition and want to perform it well, if I overthink, it’s easy to make mistakes.”
Despite the blip, the 23-year-old, now a three-time world championship gold medallist, said their faith never wavered.
Cheng, who was part of the quartet who won the mixed 3m and 10m team gold on July 26, said: “Our coaches still trust us very much because before the competition, including in previous competitions and training, we actually performed quite well.
“I also trust Zifeng and I wasn’t worried about the subsequent dives.”
The pair’s win brought China’s tally in diving at these world championships to seven golds, after Chen Yiwen and Chen Jia won the women’s 3m synchronised event earlier.
Their victory was more straightforward, with the pair leading from start to finish and claiming the gold with 325.20 points, ahead of Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen (298.35) and Mexican twins Lia and Mia Cueva Lobato (294.36).
Singaporean divers Clara Liaw and Alycia Lim were 15th of 23 in the preliminaries with 211.83.
Chen Jia (right) and Chen Yiwen in action during the WAC women’s 3m synchronised diving final.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
For Yiwen, it was her fourth straight title in the event, albeit this time she was paired with a different diver as her regular partner Chang Yani was injured.
However, the 26-year-old, who now has eight world titles, admitted that she had been struggling to find motivation since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won two titles.
She said: “I’ve been searching for it (motivation). I’m still looking for a goal that can motivate me.
“I definitely still hope I can compete until the Los Angeles Olympics and for gold medals again. But in the short term, I’m still looking for a goal to drive myself.”
But she remained satisfied with how the final turned out for her and debutante Chen Jia, with the pair working together only in May.
She said: “It’s been a smooth competition for us.
“We were quite nervous during training these few days, and were a bit tight. That affected the competition a little bit; we were a little conservative.
“I guess you can say we’re quite a good partnership. We’re all high-level athletes, and we know how to handle things, our chemistry, and do what we need to do for a competition.”
