A TOUGH TEST
During the competition, the Chinese and Russian contestants impressed spectators with the difficulty of their dives. Although the Russian pair didn't do well in their second dive, they caught up with the high degrees of difficulty in their movements.
They finished with their iconic 109C for 96.90 points. The highest one during the final on Monday. The Aquatic Centre was resonated with thunderous applauses and some waved a Russian national flag.
In comparison, Qin and Luo lapsed a bit in the same movement with bigger splash. While expressing their happiness after the success, Qin Kai spoke highly of their Russian rivals.
"They are skilled with a good mindset," he said. "Their performance in difficult dives was stable." Luo Yutong said: "I think my partner did better. I was a little nervous."
The pair almost met no challenge in 2011 as they swept all the titles in the competitions they took part in, including the FINA Diving World Series at Moscow, Beijing and Sheffield and a Diving Grand Prix.
But after the Shanghai world championships, Chinese divers came to realize that with the improvement of their competitors, they could only win by increasing the difficulty of their dives.
Zhou Jihong, manager of the Chinese diving team, required every diver to perform 109C. "Qin and Luo must do well in this dive so as to defend their title in the future," she said.
CHEN WANTS TO REPEAT GLORY
Monday also saw the preliminary competition of women's 10m platform diving event. Chinese 20-year-old Olympic champion Chen Ruolin topped the ranking list with 403.45 points.
"I just want to keep this position in the final," she said afterwards. "I want to win again." Chen was also runner-up of the event in 2007 and 2009 World Championships.
The final of women's 10m platform is slated for Tuesday evening. The 18th FINA Diving World Cup, from February 20 to 26 in the Olympic Aquatic Center, has drawn over 220 divers from 40 countries. It is viewed the last opportunity for divers to book a ticket to the Olympic arena, and the first chance for divers to compete in the wave-shaped Aquatics Center.