[Anchor]
Thirty-year-old veteran diver Kim Yeong-nam has won a valuable silver medal in the men's 1-meter springboard event. Blocking a clean sweep of medals by Chinese athletes, he claimed his sixth career Asian Games medal.
Reporter Kim Hyeong-yeol has the story.
[Reporter]
Kim Yeong-nam, who has competed in four consecutive Asian Games starting from the 2014 Incheon Incheon Asian Games and earned five medals exclusively in synchronized events where two athletes pair up, soared powerfully toward his first individual medal.
He started in fourth place after the first round, but moved up a spot in the second round with a high-difficulty routine involving three and a half somersaults. In the third round, he showcased a brilliant aerial maneuver involving two and a half somersaults with a twist, overtaking China's Liu Chengjiang to climb to second place.
He sealed his performance in the fifth round.
Taking off facing forward, he completed two and a half backward somersaults and slipped smoothly into the water, receiving a high score of 68.80 points to widen the gap with Liu Chengjiang to more than 14 points.
After cleanly finishing the final sixth round, Kim Yeong-nam claimed the silver medal behind Paris Olympic champion Wang Zongyuan of China.
Preventing Chinese athletes from sweeping both the gold and silver medals, he stepped onto the podium for the first time in an individual event and briefly turned teary-eyed after receiving his precious medal.
While waving to the cheering fans, there was a brief moment of misunderstanding,
[Wang Zongyuan: Is that your child?]
[Kim Yeong-nam / National Diving Team: My child? No, no, no. I am single.]
With a bright smile, he relished the joy of his sixth career medal.
[Kim Yeong-nam / National Diving Team: I am so happy because it feels like I am finally being rewarded for all the hard work and effort. I would appreciate it if you could continue to show a lot of support for South Korean diving.]
In the women's 1-meter springboard, Kim Su-ji also secured a come-from-behind bronze medal.
Starting in seventh place after the first round, she steadily climbed the rankings to take third place behind the Chinese competitors.
Following her silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized diving the previous day, Kim Su-ji, who won medals on two consecutive days, will challenge for her third medal of the competition in the 3-meter springboard on September 30.
(Video Editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Seo Seung-hyun)
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