There has been a series of touching stories among female divers at the currently-underway 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade.

Wang Ying, a rookie from China, won a gold medal in the women's platform diving in Gwangju, her first international competition, and a star was born at the Gwangju Universiade. Secondly, there has also been an athlete whose long efforts have finally paid off, after many unsuccessful attempts. Mai Nakagawa from Japan won a bronze in the same discipline.

In the women's platform diving final at the Nambu University International Aquatic Center in Gwangju on July 5, a Chinese female diver was showered with accolades. It was Wang Ying, who received a total of 345 points to obtain the gold.




Ying was only six years old in 1995 when a diving coach accidentally discovered her talents and helped her enroll in a diving class at a gymnasium in Chongqing, China. Although she was away from her parents, young Ying did not even have time to linger on such sadness. Ying had little time to rest because she trained from early in the morning until the evening, every day. Three years later, she had become the youngest professional diver in Chongqing.

"If I were to make just the slightest mistake in my dive, my face would end up bruised and swollen. When I hurt most, I couldn't even open my eyes," said Ying once. She said her face looked like a panda's when her eyes were bruised or swollen.

At 18, in 2007, she finally had a chance to take part in a national diving competition. Ying received a good score in her first trial, but she made a mistake in her second trial and was not even in the top eight. In addition, she caught a jinx after that competition. She obtained high scores in general competitions, but whenever she tried to compete in more advanced contests, she always made a mistake and ended up with an unsatisfactory score.

The vicious circle continued. Later, Ying decided not to worry about her performance, but instead to concentrate on competitions at another national competition in 2013. After taking such a resolution, she placed third in the women's individual diving event at the Arena Cup national youth diving championships.

Regaining her confidence, Ying has now won a gold medal in the women's platform in Gwangju and a bronze in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform. Ying is taking her first steps onto the global stage.

Secondly, Mai Nakagawa has also won a long-awaited medal and her wish has now come true. Although it was not a gold, the medal reminded her of her strong will to come back.

Earlier, Nakagawa took part in the Speed USA Diving Grand Prix, her first international competition. During the event, she received higher and higher scores as the tournament continued. She was ranked tenth in the women's platform in the quarterfinal, and fifth in the semifinal. She placed second in the women's synchronized platform.




Nakagawa's record improved more and more, and she received a silver in the women's 10-meter synchronized platform competition at the Doha Asian Games in Qatar in 2006.

Nakagawa was finally able to compete in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, with her dream coming true. In the women's 10-meter platform preliminary, she was ranked ninth and entered the final. However, she had no luck with the medals, as she placed eleventh in the final. Then, she spent an agonizing four years struggling to improve her skills. At the London Olympics, Nakagawa entered the semifinal in the women's platform diving, but she came in at only 18th place and failed to enter the finals.

However, Nakagawa did not give up. She has now won a bronze in the women's platform event at the Gwangju Universiade, which is more meaningful to her than anything else. She is now aiming for more medals at the Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro next year.

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the Gwangju Summer Universiade
jun2@korea.kr