Cheng Zilong and Zzhu Zifeng delivered a composed and calculated performance to secure China’s seventh consecutive men’s 10m synchronised platform title at the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 on Tuesday (29 July). The new pairing held off stiff competition to clinch gold with 429.63 points in their first season competing together.

Despite leading the field early on, the Chinese duo were briefly overtaken in Round 4 by competitors from NAB and Japan. But Cheng and Zhu staged a calm and confident recovery with their final two dives, including a difficult 109C and 5255B, to edge past Nikita Shleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi (NAB), who finished with 428.70. The American team of Joshua Hedberg and Carson Tyler completed the podium with 410.70.

“We believed in each other,” said Cheng. “I trusted in (Zhu Zifeng) for Dive 109C and Dive 5255B, and I trusted that we would be able to close it out… It was all about mutual trust.” On their partnership, he added, “We learnt how to work well with each other based on our individual qualities and during this competition we really bonded.”

China’s diving success continued in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard as multiple world champion Chen Yiwen partnered with Chen Jia to strike gold. Their 325.20-point victory at the OCBC Aquatic Centre reinforced China’s dominance in the discipline. Great Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen, known for their pre-meet matching nails, improved on their 2024 Doha bronze with a silver-medal performance of 298.35.

One of the biggest surprises came from 14-year-old Mexican twins Lia Yatzil and Mia Zazil Cueva Lobato. The young duo, making their senior world championship debut, earned bronze with a poised showing to announce their arrival on the global stage.

Singapore’s home divers Clara Liaw and Alycia Lim placed 15th in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard, while Max Lee and Ayden Ng ranked 18th in the men’s 10m platform synchro. The diving competition resumes on 30 July with the women’s 10m platform preliminaries and the mixed 3m synchronised springboard final.