Chinese divers collect three golds on first match day of Universiade

NAPLES, Italy - 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 women's 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.

"It's 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 I'm lucky and happy to win. I'll take the gold medal as the most precious gift for this summer holiday."

Liu Chengming, 21-year-old from Nanjing Sport Institute, won the men's 3-meter springboard in 421.20 and the 1-meter springboard in 399.00.

In basketball, the Chinese women's 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 men's team was overwhelmed by Ukraine 115-64.

Dong Zhiquan, the head coach of the women's team told Xinhua that they were well prepared and focused on depressing Finland's 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 women's team won the opener against Mexico 3-2.

In the water polo pool, the Chinese women's team lost to Russia 17-12.