Warrior spirit sees off Russian challenge

"The team technical gold is just as important as the one we won at the Paris Olympics," said Zhang.

"We've always looked forward to a direct showdown with our strongest competitors."

Despite its dominance at the 2024 Doha worlds and the Paris Olympics, it wasn't until the Singapore worlds that China dispelled doubts that it could only win in the absence of Russian competitors.

Proving the team's competitiveness has even been a reason for several veteran swimmers to continue, despite having already won world and Olympic titles.

"I failed to compete in the team technical, but today I participated in the acrobatic event, and we defeated NAB. We broke through the doubts with our strength," said Paris Olympic champion Zhang Yayi, who injured her foot 15 days ago, but still managed to participate in the last event in Singapore.

Head coach Zhang Xiaohuan noted that the victory would not only motivate veteran swimmers, but also inspire younger athletes and encourage everyone in China's artistic swimming program.

"It will boost the entire sport," she said. "Artistic swimming is developing at an incredible speed. Every competition shows how unpredictable it can be — sometimes third place can jump to first, and sometimes the champion can fall behind. It's hard to say who will win the gold medal. There is no eternal champion," she added.

Team captain Feng Yu added: "We've waited for this chance to compete against a team we've been wanting to measure ourselves against for a very long time. That makes this result special."

In the team free event, Feng was called upon to replace Zhang Yayi just nine days before the final.

Young talent also shone. Xu Huiyan, 19, secured four gold medals and a silver in her second world championships. She made history by winning China's first-ever gold in the women's solo technical event with a huge lead. She then followed up with a silver in the solo free final, setting a personal best. Xu also helped win three team golds, despite catching a fever on Friday.