China win three golds in the pool at world championships
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Gold medallist Quan Hongchan of China competing in the women's 10m platform finals at the Fina World Aquatics Championships in Doha on Feb 5.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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DOHA – China swept all three gold medals on offer at the World Aquatic Championships in Doha on Feb 5, with Quan Hongchan’s victory in the women’s 10m platform adding to the two they won in artistic swimming.
She said: “After this competition, my next target is the Olympic gold, and I want to make more progress in the future. There are no limits.”
Twins Wang Liuyi and Qianyi reclaimed the women’s technical duet world title, while Yang Shuncheng took gold in the men’s solo technical.
Said Yang: “I felt super stressed. But the stress turned into motivation to perform better.”
Quan collected a final score of 436.25 points after her five jumps to take the gold, ahead of her compatriot Chen Yuxi with 427.80 points. The two divers, aged 16 and 18 respectively, took the top two places on the podium in 2023, albeit the other way around.
Said Chen: “I’m really happy for my partner for winning the gold medal. We are more like friends and less like rivals. We always try to learn from each other. We see each other as motivation, and if the other is doing better, we use it as a sign and learn from each other.”
They will be the favourites for the 10m synchronised event, in which they will compete together on Feb 6, and in which they are the defending champions. Britain’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix completed the podium with a score of 377.10 points, nearly 50 points off second place.
The Wang sisters, 27, first took the technical duet crown in Budapest in 2022 but just missed the podium in the discipline in 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
They scored 266.0484 points, well clear of Britons Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe, who took silver with 259.5601 points. Spaniards Alisa Ozhogina and Iris Tio Casas repeated 2023’s bronze with 258.0333 points.
Japan’s Moe Higa and Mashiro Yasunaga, who were crowned champions in 2023, withdrew just before qualifying started, as one of the two swimmers felt unwell.
Yang, 16, scored 246.4766 points in the men’s solo, just edging out Italian Giorgio Minisini (245.3166). Colombian Gustavo Sanchez, who finished fourth in Fukuoka, made it to the podium this time around (231.0000 points).
Singapore’s Avvir Tham, 19, scored 266.20 points in the men’s 3m springboard preliminaries to finish 57th among 69 participants. China’s Xie Siyi was the top qualifier with 493.05 points.
In women’s water polo, the Republic lost 39-2 to two-time world champions Hungary. Singapore, who are making their debut at this level, lost 32-1 to Australia in their Group C opener on Feb 4. AFP
