Chinese teenager Zhang Jiaqi shines at Wuhan FINA Diving World Cup


WUHAN -- Home team China continued its dominance at the FINA Diving World Cup 2018 here on Wednesday as the rising star Zhang Jiaqi finished with 427.30 points to beat her teammate Ren Qian to clinch the women's 10m platform title.
Ren, the gold medalist of the discipline at Rio 2016, won the silver with a total score of 403.85. Malaysia's Pamg Pandelela took last place on the podium with 349.15.
"I was satisfied with my performance today. Overall, I did well but there is still something I can improve," the 14-year-old Zhang said after the competition.
"My diving in the semifinal was not so good, but I was telling myself to relax and finish my dives one by one with my level in the final," she added.
The Beijing native has emerged as a diving powerhouse and one of China's most talented youth stars in recent years, during which she has won the gold at the Chinese National Games and back-to-back titles at the FINA Diving World Series Beijing and Fuji stops.
Zhang says her focus is staying grounded and humble.
"Compared with other experienced divers liker Ren, I was not as consistent as her, I have to learn a lot from her," she said.
Zhang's first World Cup has not yet finished. She will partner with Zhang Minjie to compete in the women's double 10m platform on Thursday.
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