Power-house China wrapped two gold medals on offer in the synchronized diving at the Asian Games here on Tuesday as 14-year-old Zhang Jiaqi/Zhang Minjie and defending champion Cao Yuan/Xie Siyi won the titles.
Reigning World Cup winners Zhang Jiaqi/Zhang Minjie brought China first victory in the women's 10m synchro platform with a total of 361.38 points. Kim Kuk Hyang/Kim Mi Rae of DPR Korea took the silver medal and Leong Mun Yee/Nur Dhabitah Sabri of Malaysia came to third.
"We were nervous before the final, becasuse we knew that the DPR Korean divers were very strong. But during the competition, we concentrated on ourselves, and did a better job than our usual training form," said Zhang Jiaqi, who also claimed the 10m platform individual champion at the World Cup.
For Zhang Minjie, it was a special gift on her 14-year-old birthday. "I am super happy that I have the Asian Games gold medal as my birthday gift. We worked hard to prepare for this competition. All the efforts paid off but still I should improve my entries," Zhang said.
Cao Yuan, who won the men's 3m synchro springboard with Lin Yue at the 2014 World Cup and 2014 Asian Games, retained the title for China with his new partner Xie Siyi, winning in 479.52.
Kim Yeongnam/Haram Woo of South Korea finished the second with 412.74, beating the 38-year-old Japanese veteran Ken Terauchi and his 26-year-old partner Sho Sakai by 4.17 points.
"I am satisfied with my dives and I will take Asian Games as mid-term exam for the 2020 Olympic Games," Cao said.
A total of ten diving events are to be contested in Jakarta Asian Games.
