China's diving 'Dream Team' isn't unbeatable

Is China's diving "dream team" as invincible as many pundits think? Perhaps not.

The men's individual 10-meter platform could be the squad's Achilles heel in London.

With relatively thin depth in that category, China didn't claim a title at any major event from 2007-10. In that period, Australian Matthew Mitcham snatched the Beijing Olympic gold medal while British star Thomas Daley clinched the 2009 World Championships title.

However, the team now has renewed confidence about regaining its supremacy in the 10m platform after choosing its Olympic participants.

"We are confident about every event in London," team manager Zhou Jihong said recently. "The fight on the 10m platform will be the toughest as our main rival (Thomas) Daley will be competing with the home advantage."

"The overall level of other countries is improving as well. But if we do our best, we will remain the favorites."

Beijing Games synchronized 10m platform winner Lin Yue secured the last spot on the team's 12-strong Olympic roster just before the squad flew to Jinan, Shandong province, for its final period of intense drills this week.

Lin will join last year's Shanghai World Championships titlist Qiu Bo to fight for the gold medal in the 10m platform.

Dubbed a multi-spin specialist, Lin has improved his form after recovering from an injury-plagued slump following the 2008 Olympics.

The 21-year-old set a record at the 2010 National Championships, earning 603.45 points to become the first 600-plus scorer in history.

He also beat world champion Qiu at the national trials last month.

However, Lin shrugs off comparisons between himself and the favorite, Qiu, and just hopes to execute six perfect dives at his second Olympics.

"My target is to do six dives as best as I can," said Lin. "There will be pressure for sure, but I worked hard to earn this spot and I believe in myself."

Although the Lin-Qiu tandem looks good for gold in the 10m platform, Zhou remains guarded about a potential gold medal sweep in London.

"We hope to perform better than in Beijing, but that doesn't mean we can bag all eight titles. We will just aim to do all the details better and leave with no regrets," said Zhou.

China scooped seven gold medals out of eight four years ago in its home pool.

Still, a strong international force led by Daley, Mitcham and the Shanghai worlds silver medalist David Boudia from the United States will try to break up China's dominance.

"With the event's development globally, we have more and more decent opponents on the men's side. Foreign divers have caught up under the guidance of Chinese coaches and we will face a tough field," said Zhou.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn