Chinese divers swept all four synchronized event titles on the opening day of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series 2017 on Thursday.
Ren Qian/Chang Yani claimed victory in the women's 10m synchro platform with 347.82 points, followed by Kim Kuk Hyang/Kim Mi Rae of DPR Korea 339.72 and Pandelela Pamg/Jun Hoong Cheong of Malaysia 332.46, respectively.
"Our synchronization is better than the first time we performed in Beijing leg, but we also made some mistakes on our individual side. For me, the most important thing is to try to make clean entry," said the 16-year-old Ren, Rio Olympic champion in women's platform.
Olympic champion Chen Aisen and his new partner Yang Hao dominated the men's 10m synchro platform in 463.71 though had some mistakes in two dives. Patrick Hausding/Sascha Klein of Germany, took the silver 437.94 and Viktor Minibaev/Aleksandr Bondar of Russia came to third 429.03.
As a native from Guangzhou, Chen admitted he felt nervous to compete at home turf. "It is my first time to compete in an event, an international event at home. I felt nervous in front of the local fans. But I enjoy the feeling as the real 'host' diver," Chen said.
Two-time Olympic champion Shi Tingmao showed her supremacy in the women's 3m synchro springboard with her new partner Xu Zhihuan, winning 345.00 points. Maddison Keeney/Anabelle Smith of Australia came to second 318.66 and Jennifer Abel/Melissa Citrini Beaulieu of Canada finished third 311.34.
"I am very glad that I come back to this venue again for the second time. Seven years ago, I competed my first international event - Asian Games - and won my first gold medal. It brings me sweet memory and just like a new start to compete here again. The total score today is very high that closes to what we did in Rio Olympic Games when veteran Wu Minxia and I won the event. However, I did not show my best. I should make my entry cleaner, "Shi said.
The men's 3m synchro springboard title went to Cao Yuan/Xie Siyi for a total of 466.02. Jack Laugher/Chris Mears of Britain took the silver 450.60 and Illia Zakharov/Evgenii Kuznetsov of Russia third 430.86. The Russian pair also collected the day-high 93.48 points for their last dive 109C and helped them to the podium.
"We improved in some detailed techniques here from the faults we did in Beijing. We are always learning and improving. For me, I am not afraid of failure since there are many competitive divers in the world. I want to take the challenges and become tougher and tougher through hard battles," Olympic champion Cao said.
FINA/NVC Diving World Series include four meets, as Beijing (China, Mar 3-5), Guangzhou(China, March 9-11), Kazan (Russia, March 31 - April 2) and Windsor (Canada, April 21-23).
