Ainslee Kwang, 14, becomes 1st S'porean diver to qualify for World Aquatics semi-finals, places 17th overall

Singaporean diver Ainslee Kwang has placed 17th at the semi-finals of the 10 metres platform diving event at the World Aquatics Championships held in Singapore on Jul. 31.

She finished with an overall score of 242.35 after five dives, and was one of the two youngest competitors in the event at 14 years old.

First Singaporean diver in semi-finals

The secondary two student at Methodist Girls' School became the first Singaporean to qualify for the semi-finals after the preliminary round on Jul. 30, securing her spot with a personal best (PB) score of 285.00 and placing 13th out of 37.

She was among the top 18 divers in the preliminaries to make it to the semi-finals.

Kwang expressed her surprise at making the cut, telling the media, "Honestly, I was aiming for it, but I was never really confident about if I was going to (make it) or not," The Straits Times quoted.

Calling the sport "unpredictable", she admitted she was nervous about keeping up her performance in the semi-finals.

"I’ll try my best, but we’ll see...You really don’t know what’s going to happen next,” she said, adding that competing on her homeground made the difference in calming her nerves.

Her coach Charlie Tu called the achievement "a testament to her hard work and the support from everyone around her".

Kwang, who did not successfully qualify for the finals, is now eyeing the Southeast Asian games (SEA Games) in Thailand in December, she said, where she hopes to improve upon her performance in the World Aquatics.

China's Chen Yuxi retained the top spot during the semi-finals with an overall score of 394.65 points, a way ahead of North Korea's Jo Jin Mi in second place at 348.10 points.

Germany's Pauline Alexandra Pfeif took third place with 340.75 points.

Chen's compatriot Xie Peiling, who previously ranked at second place in the preliminaries, fell short of the top three and settled at fourth place in the semi-finals.

The finalists will compete this evening at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Top images via Singapore Aquatics/Instagram