Quan Hongchan seals first diving gold of National Games for Guangdong, closes in on record
Team title takes Quan Hongchan to within one gold medal of tying the legendary Fu Mingxia and two of record holder Guo Jingjing
Chinese diving starlet Quan Hongchan helped Guangdong successfully defend the women’s team gold medal at the National Games on Sunday, and moved a step closer to being her country’s best of all time.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist took part in the synchronised 10-metre platform alongside Wang Weiying in the evening session, with the pair outscoring their rivals to finish on top of the table with 235.86 points.
Chen Yuxi and Zhang Minjie, representing Shanghai, finished second just 0.9 points behind, with 234.96, while another Guangdong pair in Jiang Linjing and Xie Peiling ranked third with 229.26 points.
Helped by their supremacy in the day’s other three disciplines, Guangdong defended their crown ahead of Sichuan and Shaanxi.
A decorated diver with five world titles and a pair of gold medals from the Hangzhou Asian Games, Quan’s gold rush at the quadrennial event could continue on Thursday when she is scheduled to make her only other competitive start of the Games in the synchronised 10-metre platform alongside Wang.
Should Quan manage to secure the title, she would tie the legendary Fu Mingxia with four National Games gold, while closing in on record holder Guo Jingjing, who has six to her name.