South Korean diver Woo Haram bagged his ninth Asian Games medal Saturday, continuing his record-setting mode with the most medals at the continental event.
In the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena at the 19th Asian Games, Woo Haram and Yi Jae-gyeong finished second with a total of 393.00 points from their six dives.
The Chinese duo of Yan Siyu and He Chao topped the podium by a distance with 422.55 points, while Muhammad Syafiq bin Puteh and Tze Liang Ooi of Malaysia won bronze with 380.22 points.
This medal is Woo's ninth medal at the Asian Games since 2014. He collected a silver and three bronze medals in 2014, and then two silver and two bronze medals in 2018.
It is also South Korea's first medal from diving, which started its competition Saturday with 10 gold medals at stake through Wednesday.
South Korean divers Woo Haram (L) and Yi Jae-gyeong perform in the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, at the 19th Asian Games on Sept. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
South Korean divers Woo Haram (L) and Yi Jae-gyeong perform in the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, at the 19th Asian Games on Sept. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
The six-round event was a race for the silver medal between South Korea and Japan, while the Chinese team topped the leaderboard from the beginning by a huge margin.
After two dives, the Woo-Yi duo scored 100.8 points to tie with the Japanese team for second place, with the Chinese placing a distant first.
The two earned 72.54 points to retain the second-place position in the third round and confirmed the status with their best performance of 79.56 points in the fourth. The Japanese dropped to fourth place after a couple of errors.
In the next two dives, the South Korean divers did not let others catch up by adding 140.1 points, and sealed the second-place finish after the Chinese team.
South Korean divers Woo Haram (R) and Yi Jae-gyeong pose with their silver medals after the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, at the 19th Asian Games on Sept. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
South Korean divers Woo Haram (R) and Yi Jae-gyeong pose with their silver medals after the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, at the 19th Asian Games on Sept. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
Having suffered from a back injury for more than a year, Woo has set the Hangzhou Games as a springboard for his return to the world stage, especially in preparation for another Olympic appearance.
Before the injury, the 25-year-old diver had been on a roll, finishing fourth in the 3m springboard at the 2019 world championships and also ranking fourth in the same event at the 2021 Summer Olympics, the best performance by a South Korean diver at an Olympic Games.
He came back to the pool last summer at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, but he failed to get a final round berth for his major 3m springboard and missed an Olympic ticket.
"I had a hard time due to the back injury after the Tokyo Olympics. I was poor in Fukuoka," he said in a post-match press conference. "But after the Fukuoka competition, I've been feeling better and better. I think I'll be back up there again after this competition."
Source: Yonhap News Agency