China's Lian Junjie (L) and Yang Hao pose with their medals after winning the 10m synchronised final at the FINA Diving World Cup in Berlin, Germany, October 21, 2022. /CFP
China got their FINA Diving World Cup campaign off to a strong start as the Asian powerhouse took all three gold medals on offer at the showpiece event in Berlin, Germany on Friday.
Teenage sensations Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi came out on top at the women's 10-meter synchronized final before Lian Junjie and Yang Hao bagged the men's 10-meter synchronized gold medal.
World champion Wang Zongyuan capped off China's perfect day when he claimed a comfortable victory at the individual men's 3-meter final in a one-sided affair.
Lian Junjie and Yang Hao of China compete in the men's 10-meter synchronized final at the FINA Diving World Cup in Berlin, Germany, October 21, 2022. /CFP
At the men's 10-meter synchro final, Lian and Yang were leading the competition from the beginning after completing 101B with a degree of difficulty (DD) of 2.0 in their first dive.
The Chinese pair then finished 201B with a DD of 2.0 (54.60 points), 407C with a DD of 3.2 (87.56 points), 307C with a DD of 3.4 (75.48 points), 5253B with a DD of 3.2 (86.40 points) and 109C with a DD of 3.7 (88.80 points) in their following five jumps.
In the end, Lian and Yang won the second gold for China with 444.84 points. Timo Barthel and Lou Noel Guy Massenberg of Germany won the silver. Alejandro Solarte and Sebastian Villa Castaneda of Colombia got the bronze.
Quan Hongchan (L) and Chen Yuxi of China celebrate with their gold medals after the 10m synchronized final at the FINA Diving World Cup in Berlin, Germany, October 21, 2022. /CFP
In the women's 10-meter synchronized final earlier, Quan and Chen completed in order 201B with a DD of 2.0, 301B with a DD of 2.0, 107B with a DD of 3.0, 407C with a DD of 3.2 and 5253B with a DD of 3.2 in their five dives.
Having scored 53.40, 54.00, 79.20, 76.80 and 86.40 points respectively, the Chinese pair secured a dominant victory with 349.80 points, claiming the first gold for China in the tournament.
Katrina Young and Nike Agunbiade won the silver medal with 261.54 points. They chose the same moves as Quan and Chen, but in different orders than the first two.
Quan and Chen will participate in the women's 10-meter platform competitions on Saturday.
Wang Zongyuan during the award ceremony of the individual men's 3-meter final at the FINA Diving World Cup in Berlin, Germany, October 21, 2022. /CFP
On the very last event of the day, Wang displayed his dominance by notching a stunning 562.20 points during the men's 3-meter final. Cao Yuan pocketed silver, 48.35 points adrift of his compatriot.
"I'm not too satisfied, especially with my dives in the last two rounds," observed Cao, who won the 3-meter springboard at the Rio Olympics and missed the gold in the 10-meter synchronized in Tokyo. "I was normal, not perfect, but not bad, either."
The 20-year-old Wang, meanwhile, retained his composure after winning the contest by a wide margin. "I'm not focused on the scores during the competition, just the execution," he said.