China's diver Chen Yuxi competes in the final of the women's 10m platform diving event during the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on July 31, 2025. Photo: VCG

 
Despite finishing the World Aquatics Championships on top of the overall medal table with the emergence of young talents, the Chinese diving team found themselves in a tight spot amid mounting pressure from international opponents. 

In the final event of the world championships in Singapore on Sunday evening - the women's 4×100m medley relay - China won the bronze medal, finishing the tournament atop the medal table with 15 golds, 12 silvers, and 10 bronzes.

While the artistic swimming team consolidated their dominance in this tournament, the diving team could feel the chasing pack breathing down their necks, Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Though fielding several young athletes, the artistic swimming team achieved a clean sweep of the three team events, with 19-year-old Xu Huiyan emerging as one of the stars on the team, Liu noted. 

It's also promising to see the 12-year-old swimming prodigy Yu Zidi make her mark on the international stage, Liu said. 

Making her debut at the worlds, Yu reached three individual finals and became the youngest swimmer in history to win a world championship medal, earning bronze in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay after swimming in the heats. Though she did not race in the final, her contribution secured the team a place on the podium.

It is also notable that Qin Haiyang, who left the Paris Olympic Games without an individual gold, rebounded by winning the men's 100m and 200m breaststroke as well as a bronze in the 50m breaststroke. 

Li Bingjie, 23, defeated her longtime rival and role model for the first time, edging out US legend Katie Ledecky with a final sprint to take the silver medal in the women's 400m freestyle.

"This is the first major international competition of the new Olympic cycle. We're focusing on developing young athletes and accessing where we stand on the global stage," said Cui Dengrong, head coach of the swimming team.

In the same effort to develop young talents, the diving team encountered stern challenges from adversaries. 

In the men's 10m platform diving final, two young divers Zhu Zifeng and Zhao Renjie finished fourth and fifth respectively, missing out on the podium. This marks the first time since 1986 that the Chinese diving team has failed to reach the podium in this event at the world championships, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Australia's Cassiel Rousseau won gold. 

Meanwhile, Mexico's Osmar Olvera Ibarra ended China's decade-long reign in the 3m springboard, dethroning Olympic champion Cao Yuan on course to win gold. 

Nearly half of the diving squad were newcomers making their worlds debut. The transition between generations is a natural part of sports, and mistakes by newcomers in high-pressure competitions are inevitable. International athletes have not only made breakthroughs in the difficulty of their routines, but have also shown remarkable progress in consistency and mental resilience. Their gap with China is steadily narrowing, and the Chinese men's diving squad is now in need of a new leader to step up, said Liu. 

In artistic swimming, China achieved a clean sweep of all the three team events - the technical, free, and acrobatic routines - highlighting their squad depth and consistency. 

Rising star Xu made history by clinching gold in the women's solo technical final, marking China's first-ever world championships title in this event. She pocketed three golds and one silver in Singapore. 

As the curtain falls on Singapore, the flashes of brilliance from rising stars hint at a promising future, but the road ahead will demand more than talent alone. As Chen Yuxi, the leading figure in China's women's platform diving, said, "In this new Olympic cycle, it's even more important for me to shoulder responsibility and set an example for the younger generation."