Divers fail to complete synchronized routines

GUANGZHOU – The Philippine Olympic Committee is set to investigate divers Jaime Asok and Rexel Ryan Fabriga, who did not finish their routines and finished eighth and last in the synchronized 10m platform diving kicking off the diving events at the Aoti Aquatics Center yesterday.

Asok and Fabriga were initially excluded from the Philippine team following their poor performance in the last seven months, but the swimming association appealed for their inclusion, assuring the POC task force that the two would train in China for the Games.

Their training, however, could not start when the national water polo team of China had to use the pool.

Asok and Fabriga had to cut short their diving training because the pool was infested with dead frogs, said a task force member.

The two divers, finished the forward and inward dive all in a tuck position, two easy routines with a 2.0 degree of difficulty, in the five-round event, with scores of 48 and 39.60 (87.60).

This was way below the front-running score of gold medalists Yang Liguanhg and Zhou Luxin (115.80).

They did the forward 3 1/2 somersault which has a 3.0 degree of difficulty with a score of 54.90.

Their three-round total of 142.50 paled in comparison to the 200.80 of the Chinese and a few points below the 149.40 of eighth ranked Indonesia.

The fourth to sixth rounds – forward 3 1/2 somersault, back 3 1/2 somersault and inward 3 1/2 somersault in tuck position were not performed.

Powerhouse China dominated the men’s synchronized 10m platform and women’s 3m synchronized 3m springboard with grace and precision as it kicked off its determined drive to sweep all 10 gold medals in diving competitions in the Asian Games yesterday.

Twenty-two-year-old Zhou, silver medalist in the 10m platform in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and FINA world grand prix winner Yang, 19, put their act together to clinch the 10m synchronized platform diving, capping their routine with two dives with the highest degree of difficulty to gain the highest score of 486.57.

The Chinese duo scored runaway victories with their fifth and sixth dives, which featured 3.6 degree of difficulty. The fifth was a back dive with 3 1/2 somersault in a pike position while the sixth was a back 2 1/2 somersault and 2 1/2 twist also in a pike position.

The rest of the eight-team field had routines of only up to 3.2 degrees of difficulty.

The Philippines didn’t have an entry in the women’s 3m springboard diving won by China’s Shi Tingmao and Wang Han at presstime. The silver medal went to Malaysians Leong Mun Yee and Ng Yan Yee with the bronze going to Nakagawa Mai and Shibusawa Sayaka of Japan.

Niño Carog and Zardo Domenios team up today in the men’s synchronized 3m springboard.

Zardo Domenios and Carog compete tomorrow in the men’s 1m springboard and in the 3m springboard on Thursday.

Sheila Mae Perez competes in only one event, the women’s 3m springboard on Friday and Fabriga caps the Filipinos’ participation in the men’s 10m platform diving.