(Xinhua)08:51, July 05, 2019
NAPLES, Italy, June 4 (Xinhua) — The Chinese diving team enjoyed a flying start on the first match day here at 2019 Napoli Universiade by collecting three gold medals on Thursday.
Song Shoulin, freshman from Beijing Sports University, claimed the first title of the Napoli Universiade as she won the womens 1m springboard. The 20-year-old collected a total of 258.35 points after five dives. Her compatriot Wu Chunting, from Guangzhou Sports Institute, took silver with 256.30 points.
Its a big surprise for me because I got used to indoor training but the competition here is outdoor, said Song, the wind and sunshine have impact but Im lucky and happy to win. Ill take the gold medal as the most precious gift for this summer holiday.
Liu Chengming, 21-year-old from Nanjing Sport Institute, won the mens 3-meter springboard in 421.20 and the 1-meter springboard in 399.00.
In basketball, the Chinese womens team defeated Finland 75-50 to advance to the quarterfinal with two straight wins. They knocked down Canada 84-69 on Wednesday. However, the Chinese mens team was overwhelmed by Ukraine 115-64.
Dong Zhiquan, the head coach of the womens team told Xinhua that they were well prepared and focused on depressing Finlands three-pointer attempts.
We watched the games of our opponents. We performed well in rebounds today. The next opponent Australia is so much different. They are strong and dominant in paints and we need to make some changes, said Dong.
On the football pitch, the Chinese womens team won the opener against Mexico 3-2.
In the water polo pool, the Chinese womens team lost to Russia 17-12.