Buoyed by success

Huang Xuechen (left) and Liu Ou will be China's synchronized swimming duet at the London Olympics. [Photo by Cui Meng / China Daily]

China's up-and-coming synchronized swimming squad wants to maintain its recent dominance over European rival Spain in the London Olympic pool, as Sun Xiaochen writes.

The Chinese synchronized swimming team turned its Beijing Olympics bronze medal into silver at the Shanghai worlds last year. This summer it plans to make another big splash in London.

"The performance at the Shanghai meet last year gave us a lot of confidence. So we hope to surpass the result in Beijing at this year's Olympics," Yu Li, director of the synchro department of the national swimming administrative center, said recently.

China made a major breakthrough in the sport four years ago by winning bronze in the team event and finishing fourth in the duet.

Honed by its syncro mentor Masayo Imura of Japan, the Chinese squad shone at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai last summer, picking up six silver medals from a total of seven disciplines to edge out Spain for second spot on the medal table.

Still, Team China remains cautious about a revitalized Spain team, which will be competing much closer to home.

"We will be focused on the Spaniards because Russia is too strong to beat," said Yu. "They (the Spanish team) are similar to us physically and technically, but better than us in the connection and innovation of their routines.

"They always do well artistically and that usually impresses the judges a lot."

Boasting smooth combinations and exquisite designs, Spain outperformed China in the team technical routine to seal its only silver medal at the Shanghai meet.

However, Yu warned China had to be at its best to get by the Spaniards again.

"Competing on their continent will be tough for us, but we should be confident as our routines and fitness have improved a lot under the guidance of coach Imura," Yu said.

Imura assumed her post in China in 2006 after leading the Japanese contingent at six Olympics from 1984-2004.

Dubbed the "mother of synchro" in China, Imura has rapidly lifted the Chinese swimmers' individual strength and skills with her tough training schemes and high-standard demands.

The new pair of Liu Ou and Huang Xuechen is a fine example of Imura's system and sealed the country's only spot in the duet events in London. The former top duo of Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting missed out.

"We can feel the improvement in recent years," said Chinese captain Liu, who teamed with Huang to grab the technical duet silver medal in Shanghai.

"That all comes from her (Imura) strict requirements. Her coaching has made us competitive enough to take on the Russians and Spanish."

The Jiang sisters, who finished fourth in Beijing and were silver medal winners in the duet free routine in Shanghai, lost out to the Liu-Huang tandem at last December's national trials due to injuries.

Still, the squad will rely on the sisters to provide solid contributions in the eight-woman team events, said Yu.

"To make both the team and duet events needs strong physical conditioning. The younger pair (Liu and Huang) is obviously better able to handle this as they are healthy and ambitious."

"For the Jiang sisters, they remain good in the synchronization and artistic elements thanks to their chemistry as twins. Focusing on the team routine is the best way to use their skills," said Yu.

Drafting a 10-member initial roster, which averages 22.4 years of age, the national team arrived in Yangzhou last Friday for the national championships, a tune-up event for London, from May 24-27.

The official nine-member Olympic lineup, including a team substitute, will be announced before the final phase of intense preparations in July.

contact the writer at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn