SINGAPORE – It is her World Aquatics Championships (WCH) debut and 14-year-old Ainslee Kwang made sure it will be one to remember by becoming the first Singaporean diver to qualify for the semi-finals.

In the preliminary round of the women’s 10m platform on the morning of July 30, the Secondary 2 student from Methodist Girls’ School finished 13th out of 37 with a personal best 285.00 points after five dives. Her previous PB was 284.75. Only the top 18 divers go through to the semi-finals on July 31 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

China’s Chen Yuxi was the top qualifier with 396.50 points, ahead of compatriot Xie Peiling (337.50) and North Korea’s Jo Jin Mi (323.50).

On her qualification, Ainslee said: “Honestly, I was aiming for it, but I was never really confident about if I was going to (make it) or not.

“It hasn’t struck me yet that I actually did so well, but at the same time, I’m nervous about whether I can keep up this standard.

“I’ll try my best, but we’ll see, because diving is really (unpredictable). You really don’t know what’s going to happen next. ”

Her coach Charlie Tu called her semi-final qualification “an incredible moment for all of us”, adding: “Ainslee’s achievement is a testament to her hard work and the support from everyone around her.

“As her coach, I feel really proud and inspired because it shows that with dedication and the right guidance, our athletes can compete on the world stage. This milestone is not just hers, but a big win for the Singapore diving community.”

Ainslee, who started swimming at six years old and took up diving a year later, hopes to maintain her consistency in the semi-finals, where only the top 12 will qualify for the evening’s final.

“Competing at the world championships has been an incredible experience, and for the semi-finals, my goal is to stay consistent and execute each dive to the best of my ability ,” she added.

“Being on home ground helped settle my nerves, with the support of my family, friends, teammates and coaches making a big difference.

“My next goal is the SEA Games in December, where I hope to build on what I’ve learnt here and continue improving .”

Matteo Santoro (left) and Chiara Pellacani of Italy in action during the World Aquatics Championships Mixed 3m Synchronised Diving finals held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on July 30.

ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

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In the mixed 3m synchronised final in the evening, Italian duo Chiara Pellacani and Matteo Santoro came from behind to clinch the gold after a mistake in the fourth dive by China’s Li Yajie and Cheng Zilong.

The crowd roared straight after the Italians’ fifth and final dive as their 308.13 total meant that they finished first, ahead of Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Cassiel Rousseau (307.26) and the Chinese pair, who took the bronze with 305.70 points.

This is the Italian pair’s first gold after finishing second in 2022, third in 2023 and second again in 2024.

Pellacani, who jumped onto Santoro and was screaming after their final dive, said: “It feels incredible. We worked hard for this. We were trying to keep it calm during all the dives and we’re very happy that we made it.

“I can’t believe (it), we just started screaming (after the dive), because it was crazy just to see on the board that we were first... So it’s just emotions that it’s hard to describe.”

There was confusion for the Chinese pair over the signal to start their fourth dive, which resulted in them dropping to second and eventually third after the final dive.

Li said: “We had some issues... When we were preparing to jump, we had already stepped out, and then the whistle was blown.

“There might have been a problem, maybe he (Cheng) didn’t hear it, but I was the one calling the rhythm, and I did hear it. That might have had some impact and we were worried that if we jumped, they might not give us a score and might even give us zero.”

Li added: “I do have some regrets, but I don’t think this will affect me too much. There will still be other competitions in the future. ”

Singapore’s Max Lee and Ashlee Tan (233.91) finished 12th out of 19. There was no preliminary round for this event, with all pairs proceeding straight to the final.

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