Diving out of a massive shadow

GUANGZHOU - The young divers on the all-conquering Chinese team were not only competing for Asiad gold medals, but also emerging from the shadow of diving diva Guo Jingjing.

China's Shi Tingmao (top) and Wang Han compete in the women's synchronized 3m springboard final on Monday. China won the gold medal. [Photo/Agencies]?

Coming from the same hometown as the four-time Olympic champion, Wang Han, a springboard diver, had been dubbed "little Guo Jingjing" by local media.

Not surprisingly, Wang was asked to compare herself to Guo, who stopped training two years ago, after winning the gold medal in the synchronized 3m springboard with Shi Tingmao at the Aoti Aquatic Center on Monday.

However, the 19-year-old is determined to make her own mark.

"I don't like the title of 'little Guo Jingjing'. I want to do my own thing. I don't want to live in the shadow of sister Guo forever," Wang said of her former synchronized partner after winning the first diving gold medal in Guangzhou.

"I want to be as successful as she was and I hope to learn from her experience. But when people talk about me, I hope they don't always compare me to her. I want everyone to recognize me as a unique individual," said the bronze medalist in the 3m springboard at last year's World Championships.

Despite winning synchronized gold, Wang played down the duo's performance.

"Our cooperation was not as good as it was in training. October marked the conclusion of our national events, so we had only one month to work together. We need more training in the future," she said.

Malaysia pocketed silver while Japan settled for bronze.

In the men's synchronized 10m platform, China's Yang Liguang and Zhou Luxin won gold, followed by Malaysia's Bryan Nickson Lomas and Ooi Tze Liang.