Chinese fans eager to witness what could be a gold medal sweep for the host country have made tickets for the Olympic diving among the hottest in town.
BANGKOK: Chinese fans eager to witness what could be a gold medal sweep for the host country have made tickets for the Olympic diving among the hottest in town.
China have been a formidable force on the Olympic boards, taking 15 golds from the 24 available at the last five Games, including a record six from eight events in Athens in 2004. They have grown stronger since then, leaving their rivals in a spin with a clean sweep at the 2006 Asian Games and gold medals in all but one of the 10 events at last year’s world championships in Melbourne.
With China top of the rankings in all but one diving discipline, athletes and officials are concerned about the high expectations of the public and keen to talk down their chances. “I do not think we have an absolute advantage over our opponents anymore,” team manager Zhou Jihong told the China Daily.
“The overall level is much higher than before. It’s very close among the world’s best athletes. During the Olympics it will be even more competitive.” Double Olympic champion and eight-times world champion Guo Jingjing, 27, will lead China’s challenge at Beijing’’s Water Cube in the three-metre springboard and synchro events. Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin were 1-2 in the platform at last year’s worlds and will be again be favourites in Beijing.
Perhaps the biggest threat to a Chinese whitewash is in the men’s 10-metre platform, an event won by Russian Gleb Galperin at the last world championships and dominated on the world circuit this year by German Sascha Klein. Hu Jia won the event in Athens but has given up hope of defending his title after three years plagued by injury. “The road has been bumpy for me with injury and surgery,” Hu said. “Finally I had to see that it was hopeless.”
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