S. Korean diving takes major leap during world championships

GWANGJU, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea hasn't exactly been a hotbed of aquatic sports, and diving, in particular, has been an afterthought. But things took a turn for the better for the national diving program at the FINA World Championships in Gwangju over the past 10 days, which included the country's first medal from the discipline. Kim Su-ji captured bronze in the women's 1m springboard on July 13. No South Korean diver had finished higher than sixth place in any discipline at the biennial worlds before Kim broke through. The host country enjoyed other encouraging performances across different events and reached the finals in eight of 10 events that held preliminaries. On the men's side, Woo Ha-ram finished in fourth place in the 1m springboard on July 14, the best world championships performance by a South Korean male diver, and matched that mark in the 3m springboard four days later He also finished sixth in the 10m platform Saturday, the final day of diving. And Woo earned a spot at next year's Tokyo Olympics in both the 3m springboard and 10m platform by reaching the finals here. Woo teamed up with Kim Yeong-nam to reach the finals of two synchronized events: 3m springboard and 10m platform. In the 3m event, the two held the lead at the halfway point before faltering down the stretch. In the 10m, they finished in sixth place, setting their new career high as a tandem. In other team events, Kim Su-ji and partner Cho Eun-bi reached the final of the women's synchronized 3m springboard, the first time South Korea had a team in the final in that event, and finished 12th overall. Cho and Moon Na-yun ranked 10th in the synchronized 10m platform. This is heady stuff for a country whose divers struggled to make it out of the preliminaries in the past. Home cooking probably played a role, not to mention the raucous fans that divers credited with giving them a boost of energy. And most of these divers are still in their early- to mid-20s, with their athletic prime yet to arrive. Though Kim Su-ji received most of the spotlight thanks to her medal, Woo may have been more impressive overall. The 1m springboard isn't an Olympic event, and the field wasn't as deep as the 3m springboard and 10m platform. Kim, who didn't enter the 10m platform, didn't survive the preliminary in the 3m springboard, while Woo finished in the top six in the 3m and 10m events. After the semifinal of the 10m platform, Woo spoke about his personal transformation, going from accepting defeat against more established stars to having the belief that he can beat them. "I used to think that I could never catch them. But now, at least I put up a fight," Woo said. "It's an honor to be closing the gap with them." Cho Eun-bi, who competed in the women's 3m springboard and two synchronized events, the 3m and 10m, said the collective confidence of the national team has grown by leaps and bounds. "There used to be an air of defeatism in the room, the sense that we couldn't get anything done," said Cho, one of the older divers in Gwangju at 23. "Now, we believe we can be really competitive if we just cut down on our mistakes just a bit." And to be sure, there were mistakes, which is all part of the growing pains. In the men's synchronized 3m springboard final on July 13, Woo and Kim Yeong-nam had 185.64 points after three dives, leading Jack Laugher and Daniel Goodfellow of Britain by 7.26 points with three attempts remaining. But Woo botched an entry in the next dive, as the South Korean duo fell to sixth place. They dropped another spot to seventh following their fifth attempt, and poor execution by Kim in the last dive saw the duo end in 10th place. Kim and Woo beat themselves up later for making "easy mistakes," "We paid so much attention to executing difficult moves that we forgot about the basics," Kim said. "I think we're right up there with the best in the world in techniques, but we have to go back to the drawing board." Two days later, Kim and Woo finished in sixth place in the synchronized 10m platform, once again coming undone by mistakes in entries. "If I can address problems with my entry, I think it will open up new possibilities for our team," Kim said. In his last dive in the 10m platform final, Woo botched his entry en route to earning only 57 points, his lowest of the day, and settled for sixth. Woo said he just has to be relentless and persistent. "To address shortcomings with my entry, I have to go back to working on fundamentals," he said. "Once I get the basics down, then I'll move on to more challenging techniques and put in a lot of reps." Woo pushed himself hard in Gwangju, with just one day off during a grueling, nine-day span that featured 72 dives, in all preliminaries, semifinals and finals. Woo said it was well worth it because he feels like he's put South Korea on the international map. "I feel that I am getting some recognition from divers from other countries. I am quite proud of that," Woo said. "I think I represented my country well here." Woo will make his second straight Olympic appearance in Tokyo next year. Another world championships will beckon in 2021. At 21, Woo is young enough to dream big over the long haul. "I may not reach the podium at the worlds right away," Woo said. "But if I keep trying hard and improving, maybe I'll win a medal at the Olympics or the world championships someday." jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)