Gold medalists Chen Yuxi (left) and Zhang Jiaqi pose during the medal ceremony for the women's synchronized 10-meter platform final in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

"We are not invincible; we just trained hard, we competed with confidence." Two Gen-Z divers who had just won gold at the Tokyo Olympics ingeniously skipped the snaring questions thrown at them by Western media.

China bagged its eighth gold medal in Tokyo as the golden duo of Zhang Jiaqi, 17, and 15-year-old Chen Yuxi won an emphatic victory in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving on Tuesday.  

Yet media crowded the two young athletes, as reporters began to "dig holes" with harsh interview questions right after the competition.

"What's the reason why the Chinese diving team is so powerful?" "Do you become so powerful because of the repeated practice?" Facing the constant questions thrown by a European reporter, the duo changed their subject to China's successful COVID-19 prevention measures.

"Our country has done a great job in ensuring our training procedure. We were able to get the systematic training in the situation like that [during the pandemic,]" Chen said without hesitation.

"The trick to win is our hardworking plus the insurance from our country."

"And we're not invincible. We won the medal only because we trained really hard; we're full of ­confidence toward the goal," said Zhang, when she was asked whether the Chinese diving team was invincible. 

The two have shown their incredible potential since they were young. Zhang first won gold at the age of just 12 at the Chinese national diving championships in 2017. Chen came first at the Gwangju 2019 World Aquatics Championships in South Korea, 60 points clear of her next rival. 

Referring to the perfect coordination and excellent performance of the two young athletes, a Chinese TV commentator praised them for making less splash on entry than when "I throw dumplings into water."

The Chinese duo topped the rankings with 363.78 points, well ahead of Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell from the US in 310.80 points, and Mexico's Gabriela Agundez Garcia and Alejandra Orozco Loza in 299.70.

Global Times