On March 19, the 2023 National Diving Championships, which carried the selection tasks of the Paris Olympic Games, the World Championships and the Asian Games, kicked off in Shanghai, and the fierce competition for the two-man event was ushered in on the first day.
After Quan Hongchan/Chen Yuxi won the gold medal in the women's doubles 10-meter platform, the women's and men's doubles 3-meter springboard competitions were also staged successively - Chen Yiwen/Chang Yani, He Chao/Yan Siyu won the championship respectively.
For Chen Yiwen/Changyani, the main duo of the new Olympic cycle, although the gold medal was lost, the technical performance of this competition is difficult to say satisfactory - "This shows that we still have room for improvement", Changyani said.
He Chao/Yan Siyu said that the gold medal was "lucky" - the much-watched Olympic champion Wang Zongyuan's partner Zheng Jiuyuan competed, but he unexpectedly missed the podium.
Chen Yiwen (right) and Chang Yani. Infographic
Won the championship, but not very satisfied
In the women's double 3-meter springboard event, the veteran pair Shi Tingmao/Wang Han helped the Chinese diving team create glory at the Tokyo Olympics, and entering the new Olympic cycle, Chen Yiwen/Chang Yani became the main combination of this event.
Following in the footsteps of their predecessors step by step, the duo lived up to expectations, and they reached the top podium twice at last year's World Championships and World Cup.
At this National Diving Championships, which was also the first Paris Olympic trials, the two were also the favorites to win gold, and they also won the gold medal.
But the process of the game made the two not very satisfied, and bluntly said that they needed to summarize the flaws in the action.
Chen Yiwen said that the instability in the game has nothing to do with injuries, it is purely a technical problem, "It may also have something to do with not playing at night for too long, a little bit of poor control at once, plus the training some time ago did not fully recover the competitive state." ”
"Whether it is single or double, the training before this competition was not particularly systematic, there were some minor injuries and other problems, and the mental state was still a little lacking."
However, such small ups and downs are not a big problem for the two, and they will actively make up for their shortcomings afterwards, as Changyani said: "This shows that we still have room for continuous improvement." I still have a lot of confidence in our old pair, and we will work harder in the training sessions to promote each other and improve ourselves. ”
He Chao (second from right) and Yan Siyu (second from left) won the championship.
Wang Zongyuan's combination accidentally folded
The title of the women's doubles 3-meter springboard was not unexpected, but in the men's doubles 3-meter springboard, there were surprises.
In the men's doubles 3-meter springboard final, the favorite Wang Zongyuan partnered Zheng Jiuyuan on the stage, but in the end, he did not qualify for the podium...
Wang Zongyuan won the gold medal in the double 3-meter springboard and the silver medal in the single 3-meter springboard at the Tokyo Olympics, and won three gold medals in the singles and doubles 3-meter springboard + 1-meter springboard at last year's World Championships, becoming the first player of the Chinese diving team to win three gold medals in a single World Championships.
Subsequently, he won the double gold medal in the singles and doubles 3-meter springboard at the World Cup, becoming a highly anticipated springboard strength in the Paris Olympic cycle. In this championship, he changed partners in the men's doubles 3-meter board and teamed up with young player Zheng Jiuyuan.
Unfortunately, youngster Zheng Jiuyuan made obvious mistakes in both the fourth and sixth jumps, of which the fourth jump was a direct action failure without a score, and the pair ended in 14th place.
Due to the mistakes of their opponents, He Chao/Yan Siyu from Guangdong eventually won the championship, and they also bluntly said that they were lucky.
"It's also a bit lucky for me because my opponent made a mistake, so I have to find my own problems and improve my own strength." He Chao said.
"In the end, the score was very low, I still have to continue to work hard to make up for it, I am not very satisfied, there are still flaws, the action is not decisive enough and not detailed enough."
For the Olympics, fight again
He Chao participated in the Rio Olympics as early as 2016, but when he made a serious mistake and failed to advance to the men's 3-meter springboard semifinals, he announced his retirement in 2017 with regret.
But four years later, he resolutely chose to return to training - he gradually resumed training at the end of 2021, and at last year's national championship, he partnered Yan Siyu to win the men's doubles three-meter springboard championship, and has now achieved consecutive championship titles.
"The current identity may not be the same as before, I used to play as a national team, and now I am a provincial team, my own baggage is not as big as before, I just do my own things well, and I don't need to be influenced too much by my opponent." After the game, he spoke to reporters about the difference between the past and the present.
Choosing to return after a long absence, for the 31-year-old He Chao, is not easy, as he himself said, "The comeback is quite torturous for me, after all, the age and body are not as good as before, there are still four years in between, and there are many more things to give and bear." ”
But even so, he couldn't let go of the dream in his heart and was ready to go all out.
"When I lost the 2016 Olympics, I was young, maybe my ideas and minds were not very mature, and I didn't think too much about retiring, so I felt that there were few opportunities and I didn't want to practice much."
"Now, after so many years of precipitation, my thoughts and spirit are different from before. At least from my point of view, there is still a little chance [to hit the Olympics], so I want to use this little opportunity to fight again. ”