Latest news with #ZhangXiaohuan
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
China retain artistic swimming team free title at World Aquatics Championships
Find out what's new on ST website and app. China's artistic swimmers impressing judges and spectators at the World Aquatics Championships' team free final at the WCH Arena on July 20. SINGAPORE – Overcome by emotion at the end of their routine, China's artistic swimming coach Zhang Xiaohuan shed tears of joy as she planted a kiss on the cheek of each and every one of her swimmers. Her team had scored 348.4779 points to retain their title in the team free category at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) Arena on July 20. Japan were second (334.7232), with Spain (321.1328) taking home the bronze. Zhang believes that had she not made three technical changes after the Artistic Swimming World Cup in Xi'an, China in June, they would not have been on the podium. 'Overall I am very happy with our performance and despite having faced some difficulties leading up to this, we managed to pull through,' the 44-year-old said in Mandarin. China's Xu Huiyan, who won the women's solo technical event a day earlier, said: 'Coach had aimed for us to score 350 points, but we were happy nonetheless. 'Last year (at the WCH in Doha), I was merely a spectator and today I am a competitor. It is a huge change, there is pressure, but the goal is just to do my best.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore Both Bukit Panjang LRT disruptions in July linked to newly installed power system: SMRT Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Asia Johor Bahru collision claims lives of e-hailing driver and Singapore passenger Sport Arsenal arrive in Singapore for pre-season matches with AC Milan and Newcastle Business Crypto exchange Tokenize to shut down Singapore operations Singapore More initiatives and support for migrant community announced at Racial Harmony Day event Singapore ComfortDelGro to discipline driver who flung relative's wheelchair out of taxi China were the last to take to the pool as they had topped the preliminary round a day earlier, with Spain qualifying in second and Japan third. Japan had made five changes to the team of eight who finished fifth out of 10 at the Paris Olympics last August, but produced a captivating performance that exuded poise and elegance. Spain then put on a bold performance, but an error in their eighth hybrid element caused them to drop points. They were awarded a lower score than their preliminary-round result of 329.4288. Japan captain Tomoka Sato said: 'We were third place yesterday, but second today. Doesn't matter what the result was, I'm very satisfied with our performance. 'Before the Olympics, we had so much pressure back home because artistic swimming is a traditional sport and most people thought that maybe we could get a medal. 'After the Olympics, we changed the team and our mindset changed – that made the difference this time.' Japan's Sakurako Uchida in action during the World Aquatics Championships' team free final at the WCH Arena on July 20. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Despite losing out on silver after their mistake, Spain's Dennis Gonzalez Boneu believes that it was an 'incredible performance from my teammates'. The 21-year-old said: 'We made a little mistake and this was not good for us, but I'm happy because we (still managed to) be inside the podium places with this little mistake. 'All the choreography today was better than yesterday and I enjoyed it a lot. 'With this routine, we wanted to show people that 'crazy is normal in our lives' and this choreography shows that you can be crazy, but you also can be a genius.' The turnout on July 20 was better than previous days, with the 4,800-capacity WCH Arena looking slightly more than half full. While two stands with restricted view were closed, the organisers said that 'close to two thirds of the available ticketed seats were occupied during the team free final'. In the earlier women's solo free preliminary round, China's Xu scored 238.7737 points to top the list of 12 heading into the final on July 22, when the 19-year-old will be eyeing her third gold at this WCH. Belarusian Vasilina Khandoshka, who competes as a neutral athlete, qualified second with 238.2762 points, ahead of Spain's Iris Tio Casas (235.3063). Singapore's Rachel Thean did not qualify for the final after finishing 16th out of 30 with a personal-best 201.2638 points.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
China aim to dominate in artistic swimming at the World Aquatics Championships
Team China competing in the team acrobatic event during the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 Super Final in Xi'an. SINGAPORE – For over two decades, Russia's artistic swimmers were the best in the world. From 1998 to 2019, they dominated the discipline, topping the medals table at every edition of the World Aquatics Championships, achieving a clean sweep of golds on three occasions. But then came the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupting the sporting world and unsettling the established order. The 2021 World Aquatics Championships were pushed to 2022 to avoid clashing with the postponed Tokyo Olympics, and by the time competition resumed, the artistic swimming landscape had begun to shift. Normalcy returned to many sports, but not to Russia. In March 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from World Aquatics competitions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their absence cracked open the door for Asian nations to surge through, with China rising to the fore. And the top dogs look set to dominate again at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships (WCH). Though China first tasted world title success in 2017, when they claimed the free routine combination gold in Budapest, Chinese head coach Zhang Xiaohuan believes that the 2022 championships were the turning point as they clinched golds in the Olympic events for the first time. 'I really believe it inspired the whole country,' said Zhang, a former world championship medallist, in an interview with Inside Synchro in 2023. 'Finally, Chinese athletes were standing on the top of the podium. And the ones who did, they experienced this feeling, so this will help them to work harder, to fight because they want to get the gold medal again, and to inspire the younger athletes.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Fatal abuse of Myanmar maid in Bishan: Traffic Police officer sentenced to 10 years' jail Singapore Man charged over manufacturing DIY Kpods at Yishun home; first such case in Singapore Singapore HSA launches anti-vaping checks near 5 institutes of higher learning Business 5 things to know about Kuok Hui Kwong, tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter and Shangri-La Asia head honcho Singapore Jail for elderly man for using knife to slash neighbour, who later died of heart disease Singapore $7,000 fine for eatery chain involved in ByteDance food poisoning case World UK to lower voting age to 16 in landmark electoral reform Opinion Grab tried to disrupt taxis. It now wants to save them Since then, China's momentum has grown. They topped the artistic swimming standings in 2022 with four golds, then finished behind Japan and Spain at the 2023 edition in Fukuoka. By 2024, they reclaimed the top spot in Doha, winning seven of the 11 events they entered. Canada, Greece, Italy, and Kazakhstan each took one gold. When the artistic swimming competition kicks off at the WCH Arena on July 18, China, who won historic duet and team golds at the Paris Olympics, are again favourites in the team events after a stellar World Cup campaign. They capped their preparations by dominating the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 Super Final in Xi'an, sweeping all the team titles and winning seven golds on home soil. Twins Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi, who won the duet and team golds in Paris, are missing from the squad, but China can tap on other talents. One of their brightest prospects is Xu Huiyan, 19, who claimed five gold medals at the Super Final. 'We're currently in a transition period with veteran and new athletes working together,' said Olympic champion Chang Hao to World Aquatics during the Super Final. 'There are still some integration and coordination issues to work through. That's why we need more time to refine our teamwork before we can perform at our best. But honestly, after seven months of intensive closed-door training, we've already shown significant improvement.' Other nations poised to contend for podium places include Spain, now led by coach Andrea Fuentes – a three-time Olympic silver medallist – who returns after leading the United States to a historic team silver at the 2024 Paris Games. The Spaniards have had strong showings at the World Cup in 2025, topping the medal charts at the Paris, Egypt and Canada stops and claiming the team technical title in all three events. Britain's Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe are also strong prospects, having made history with the nation's first Olympic medal in artistic swimming at the Paris Games. They also were the first Britons to win a duet medal at the world championships in 2024, when they clinched a silver and a bronze. Austria's Alexandri triplets – Anna-Maria, Eirini, and Vasiliki – will also be ones to watch. Now coached by Japan's former national team head Nakajima Tatako, they have shown impressive form this season: Anna-Maria and Eirini won the duet technical title at the 2025 European Championships in June, while Vasiliki returned after an 11-month break to take bronze in the solo technical at the World Cup in Markham, Canada.
