Teenage girl shines at Chinese National Diving Championships

Zhang Jiaqi [Photo: qq.com]

13-year-old diver Zhang Jiaqi enjoyed her moments at the Chinese National Diving Championships as she beat two Rio Olympic medalists Ren Qian and Si Yajie to win the women's 10m platform on Sunday.

Competing against more experienced and older players, the young girl seemed to be dominant as she kept her lead from beginning to the end. 

Olympic runner-up Si Yajie ranked second, while Ren Qian, the Rio Olmpic champion executed her first dive with flaws and only placed the fourth.

Zhang Jiaqi [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Earlier in the afternoon, Qiu Bo and Yang Jian claimed the victory in the men's 10m synchronized platform, beating Olympic gold medalist Chen Aisen and his partner Huang Bowen.

Qiu and Yang took the lead after their third dive and maintained the advantage to the end.

The National Diving Championships serves as the qualification for the National Games, which is to be held in Tianjin from August. Only the top 18 divers in individual events and top 12 pairs in synchronized events will get tickets to Tianjian.