By Michael Church, OCA Media
Tokyo, Japan, September 27, 2026: Olympic champions Yang Hao and Lian Junjie retained their Asian Games title in the men’s 10 metres synchronised platform on Sunday as Chinese divers added to their gold medal haul at Tokyo Aquatic Centre.
The duo dominated from start to finish to win gold on 465.54 points.
The silver medal went to Malaysia’s Elvis Priestly Clement and Enrique Harold on 377.52 points while Korea’s Shun Junghwi and Kim Youngtaek took the bronze on 375.90 points.
Victory at the site of the diving events at the 2020 Olympic Games brought an element of emotional closure for Yang and Lian after they missed out on securing a place at the Olympics five years ago.
“It was my first time coming to this Olympic venue in Tokyo,” said Yang. “Seeing this arena brought back some feelings because, before the Tokyo Olympics, Lian Junjie and I went through some special circumstances and didn't make the team.
“So coming to an Olympic venue like this gave me a different kind of longing and aspiration.”
The duo were not selected for the Olympic Games when they were held in Tokyo but have made amends since, winning gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024 before going on to claim the world title in Singapore last year.
“I'm still very happy,” said Lian. “We didn't get to come to this venue in 2021, but now we've had the chance to compete here. I think that's a different kind of compensation or closure.
“Even though it's a different time period, life moves forward. We look ahead more than we look back.”
The Chinese pair had little trouble retaining their title, registering the best score in all six rounds of diving.
Their final attempt was close to perfection with the judges awarding 99.90 points for a forward four-and-a-half somersaults with tuck that was given a 3.7 difficult rating.
Malaysians Clement and Harold, meanwhile, showed a steady improvement throughout their programme and confirmed the silver medal success with a stunning final back two-and-a-half somersaults with two-and-a-half twists and pike to secure 81.00 points.
That guaranteed a second-placed finish for the pair, 1.62 points ahead of the Koreans while home divers Shuta Yamada and Reo Nishida, who had made a strong start before slipping back, took fourth.
“This is my second Asian Games. In the last Asian Games I got bronze, these Asian Games I got silver,” said Malaysia’s Harold, whose previous medal also came in the 10 metre synchronised platform.
