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Teen diving sensation is now China’s darling
Barely into diving for seven years and a relative unknown until Thursday, Quan Hongchan, 14, is now a household name in China - her story is already the stuff of Chinese sporting legends.
The emerging backstory of Olympic diving champion Quan Hongchan, 14, and her disarming candour after winning the gold medal is being hailed as both inspiring and endearing.
China’s youngest athlete at the Tokyo Games, Quan scorched the scoresheet in the individual 10m platform final on Thursday, drowning the competition with three perfect 10s for an overall score of 466.20, which is being described as sensational.
Barely into diving for seven years and a relative unknown until Thursday, the teenager is now a household name in China - her story is already the stuff of Chinese sporting legends.
Quan is likely to be showered with gifts, money, free passes to zoos and amusement parks - neither of which she has visited until now - and lifetime supplies of her favourite “Latiao”, a local spicy snack in China made of wheat flour and chilli.
Quan is from a farmer’s family in a town in south China’s economic powerhouse, Guangdong province.
Reports on her in Chinese domestic and social media - where the teenager, unlike in the pool, has made quite a splash in the past couple of days - say that she was discovered by a talent scout while practising diving at school in 2014.
If her dives won the medal, her post-win media interaction won hearts. “It seems there is no difference between the Olympics and national competitions. My coach told me to relax and don’t be nervous before the Games,” she was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) at the post-win media interaction in Tokyo.
The inspiration behind her impulse to dive, as it turns out, wasn’t exactly lofty - she wanted to bunk school. “I feel like I was cheated into starting diving. It’s mainly because I don’t like to go to school, and my grades are poor, but it feels good to dive,” Quan said.
When asked about her secrets in being able to dive literally without a ripple on the water, Quan said: “I don’t know, I haven’t compared myself to dumplings!”
What broke the Chinese internet and possibly millions of hearts was when Quan spoke about her ill mother, dedicating the win to her. “My mother has been in hospital several times,” Quan told The Paper, a Chinese digital newspaper. “The treatment costs a lot. I feel like I have to earn money to send it home to mom. Mom is ill. I want to make a lot of money, to treat her, and cure her completely.”
Quan is likely to get substantial support from Chinese netizens in her endeavour.
Interestingly, her compatriot Chen Yuxi who won the silver in the same event is only 15.
Australia’s Melissa Wu, 29, whose father is of Chinese origin, took the bronze in the event. Wu, in fact, had won the silver medal for synchronised diving at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
