Dubai: The world’s best divers have arrived in Dubai ahead of the second leg of the Fina/NVC Diving World Series, which is being held at the Hamdan Sports Complex from March 20-22.
The divers flew in from Beijing after competing in the first round of the series last weekend.
Following the event in Dubai, the competition heads to London, Moscow, and Windsor, Canada, before the final leg in Monterrey, Mexico, in June.
China again demonstrated the incredible depth of talent in their diving team in the first round last weekend, with new synchronised combinations topping the podium, and two current world champions being upstaged by their teammates. The changes did little to slow the Chinese juggernaut, though, and they kicked off the series by taking all but one of the gold medals on offer.
However, this represents a major breakthrough for international diving and is indicative of the closing of the gap between China and the rest of the world as this is the first time since 2010 that China did not win every gold medal on offer at the event when it has been staged in Beijing.
The women’s 10-metre platform field was opened up with Olympic champion Chen Ruolin concentrating on the synchro event in this series. Countrywoman Liu Huixia took advantage of Roulin’s absence, taking the first gold of the series over Pandelela Rinong Pamg of Malaysia, with Tonia Couch of Great Britain taking bronze.
In a surprise result in the men’s 10m platform, world champion Qiu Bo was beaten by teammate Cao Yuan, who is better known for his synchro performances. Great Britain’s Tom Daley had a strong start, going into first place with his first dive, but had to settle for bronze.
The three-metre springboard also yielded a surprise with world champion He Zi beaten by teammate Wang Han, the first time Wang has prevailed in an international meet against He. Canada’s Pamela Ware took bronze, while in the men’s three-metre event the reigning world champion He Chong did not disappoint, taking gold ahead of Lin Yue, with Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha in third.
In the men’s three-metre synchro, the Russian team of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Zakharov broke the Chinese deadlock with gold ahead of Cao Yuan and Lin Yue. Lin and Cao are better known as a 10m synchro team, and had to settle for silver in their three-metre synchro debut. They redeemed themselves in the 10-metre synchro, though, taking gold ahead of world champions Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein of Germany, with Great Britain’s Daniel Goodfellow and Matthew Lee taking the bronze.
The women’s three-metre synchro result was more predictable, with world champions Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao of China in first place followed by Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware. Canada also took silver in the women’s 10-metre synchro, with Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion finishing behind world champions Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia. Malaysian duo Pandelela Rinong Pamg and Mun Yee Leong took bronze.
Tickets for this weekend’s event cost Dh40 at the door, with children under 12 admitted free. The 10-metre platform synchro finals are on Thursday from 10am to 12 noon, followed by the opening ceremony at 5pm and three-metre springboard synchro finals from 6-8pm. Friday’s three-metre individual springboard semi-finals run from 10am to 12 noon, with the finals from 5-7pm, while Saturday sees the 10-metre platform semi-finals run from 10am to 12pm, followed by the finals from 5-7pm.
