Chinese divers win men’s 1m springboard and mixed synchronised 10m events at World Aquatics C’ships

SINGAPORE – After securing the bronze medal in the men’s 1m springboard at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) 2023 in Fukuoka, China’s Zheng Jiuyuan looked destined for big things.

But instead he faced a major setback as he slipped to 11th at the 2024 edition in Doha, which he attributed to a mentality issue.

There was no such mental roadblock in 2025, however.

The 21-year-old earned his place among China’s pool of elite divers as he finally got his hands on the coveted gold medal at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on July 27, overwhelming the competition as he romped to a total of 443.70 points.

Mexico’s Osmar Olvera was second with a score of 429.60, while Yan Siyu, the other Chinese diver in the 12-man final, scored 405.50 as he claimed the bronze medal.

Zheng, who has yet to make his Olympic debut, said: “I always knew I had the ability, but the mentality (maybe) not so much. I was not mature enough technically (in Doha).

“It was still better for me to think about my own routines on the springboard, every step I took before I think about anything else.”

When asked what caused a change in his mentality, he said: “I’ve competed in this competition (world championships) four times now. When you compete long enough, you start to calm down because it’s familiar. I became less nervous and started to do things without constraint.”

In a magnificent diving display, Zheng averaged 73.95 points per dive, showing immense consistency as he pulled away from the field long before the end of the final, eventually finishing 14.10 points ahead of Olvera, who was frustrated as he failed to retain his title.

Singapore’s Avvir Tham (314.65) and Max Lee (261.00) finished 28th and 48th respectively out of 59 divers who took part in the preliminaries.

In the mixed 10m synchronised event earlier in the day, China’s Zhu Yongxin and tournament debutante Xie Peiling claimed the gold medal following a breathtaking final. The pair had never competed together before.

Xie said: “(My goal was to) dive well, dive beautifully. (I’m glad) I got to show what I’m about on the platform (today).”

However, questions about their chemistry were definitely raised after a poor first dive scored at 36.60 points put themselves in last spot in the 12-pair final.

But those doubts were dashed as a series of wonderfully executed dives shot them to the top of the rankings with a grand total of 323.04.

“We didn’t think too much about it (the first dive). Most importantly, we kept listening to our coach and just thought about how we would normally dive,” said the 15-year-old Xie, who is the second youngest of China’s diving contingent at the 2025 WCH.

Zhu, 21, added: “Synchronised diving is done by two people, not one person. When your partner makes a mistake, it also concerns yourself. The important part was that we kept encouraging each other.

“Our ceiling is still relatively high. We definitely have room to improve.”

North Korea’s Choe Wi Hyon and Jo Jin Mi missed out on gold by the narrowest of margins, settling for silver with 322.98, while neutral athletes Aleksandr Bondar and Anna Konanykhina from Russia bagged the bronze with 311.88.

The Singapore pair of Yim Shek Yen and Ainslee Kwang were given a harsh introduction to the world championships as they scored 238.62 and finished in bottom place.

However, for tournament debutante Ainslee, she was happy to “just do the little things correctly”.

The 14-year-old said: “The biggest takeaway for me is definitely to know how to handle my nerves. It’s such a big competition and you can get really frightened easily.

“It’s really good to know how to manage my nerves and my stress, and I know this is just a preparation leading up to the SEA Games,” added the Methodist Girls’ School student.