China's divers planning a big splash in Rio Olympics
Top diving nation China confident of making a big splash in Rio next year
They have dominated the sport of diving since the 1980s, winning 24 out of 48 Olympic gold medals since Los Angeles 1984.
While traditional rivals such as the United States and Germany, as well as newer nations like North and South Korea, are rapidly improving, no country seems to be able to topple China's dominance in the sport in the foreseeable future.
When The New Paper asked China's coach Wang Xiaosong yesterday if any country could threaten the Asian giants in diving, the 36-year-old, along with several Chinese officials around him, laughed politely before he replied.
"We have not considered that, we just focus on what we do," he said on the sidelines of the team's training session at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, ahead of the Fina Diving Grand Prix from today to Sunday.
China's success in churning out champions on the platform and springboard stems from their emphasis on the sport since the 1980s, which has resulted in adequate facilities, sports science support and other resources into developing world-beaters.
"From what I can see, international diving standards have gone up rapidly in recent years," said Wang, a former Chinese national diver between 1993 and 1997.
"But, in terms of training, China have always been ahead of the pack. We are happy to see others progress, but we have not stopped improving and innovating, so we are not worried about them."
While China have won all 10 titles at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, the US are the only nation to make a clean sweep of diving titles at an Olympic Games, achieving the feat in 1904, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948 and 1952.
Next year may well be China's year, blurted one Chinese official yesterday, although diving legend Wu Minxia and veteran Chen Ruolin are in the twilight of their careers.
Australian diver Brittany Broben has her doubts that any country can usurp China's throne right now, but expressed confidence that the Chinese will not be overly dominant in Rio de Janiero next year.
"I don't think anyone can ever replace China, but they are not unbeatable," said the 19-year-old (below), who clinched a silver in the women's 10m platform at London 2012.
"A lot of people, from the Russians to the North Koreans, have beaten them at the World Championships and the Olympics."
RISING STARS
The British diving team may well be up there among the challengers in years to come, with the likes of Lois Toulson and Katherine Torrance leading their generation of young divers onto the world stage.
Lois, 16, beat seniors such as Sarah Barrow and Tonia Couch to win the women's 10m title at the British Championships earlier this year, and collected another title at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, although the aquatics events in the latter are junior-level competitions.
The exploits of Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley have inspired a younger generation of divers, she said, and he has given the sport a higher profile.
She said: "Whenever you think of diving, you automatically think of Tom Daley... there are a lot more juniors like Katherine and I going up to the seniors and making a bigger team.
"Our team just keep getting stronger and I definitely think 2016 would be a good year for British diving."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
