By Michael Church, OCA Media
Tokyo, Japan, September 27, 2026: World champion duo Chen Jia and Chen Yiwen claimed the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 gold medal in the women’s synchronised 3 metre springboard on Sunday to maintain China’s winning start to the diving events at Tokyo Aquatic Centre.
The pair were in dominant form, notching up 328.56 points to finish clear of silver medallists Kim Nahyun and Kim Suji from Korea, who amassed 254.70 points.
Malaysia's Lee Yiat Qing and Ong Ker Ying finished third with 243.72 points.
“A new Olympic cycle and a new partner have given us confidence,” said Chen Yiwen, a double Olympic champion from Paris 2024 and multiple world title winner.
“This Asian Games feels a bit different. Maybe it has something to do with the host location. Being here in Japan feels different.
“But the atmosphere today was really good. Once the whistle blew, it was even more crowded and enthusiastic than I had imagined. The moment the whistle sounded, that competition feeling immediately kicked in.”
The Chinese divers were the class act of the field, recording the best dive in each round on their march towards gold.
They saved their finest for the final round when a forward two-and-a-half somersaults with twist and pike that had a difficulty rating of 3.0 earned 78.30 points to put the seal on a confident display that left the rest of the field disputing the minor places.
“It feels similar to winning my first world championships gold medal,” said Chen Jia, who won her first Asian Games gold. “Emotionally, they both feel like a first for me. After all, I only started competing in the synchronised event last year.”
The Korean duo held their nerve to win silver, recovering their composure after a disappointing penultimate dive to finish second ahead of the Malaysians.
A strong fourth dive by Lee and Ong, meanwhile, had given the Malaysians hope, the pair moving to within six points of second going into the final round. But, despite missing out on silver, the pair were delighted to take a place on the podium.
“We did a great job overall because we didn’t expect that in this event we’d get a medal,” said Lee. “So we’re thankful and grateful for everything. We were expecting to just do our best and see what we can get.”
