Dubai: All eyes will be on China’s Olympic silver-winning synchronised swimming team this week as they enter the 9th Asian Swimming Championships as firm favourites for gold.
The Chinese team boast a number of Olympic medallists whose vast experience and spectacular precision and finesse will be on display at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Sports Complex in the synchronised swimming section of the Championships, which runs for the first four days of the 11-day event.
The London 2012 Olympic Games saw the Chinese women collecting silver in the free routine team event and a bronze in the duet free routine. The duo that bagged that bronze, Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou, were also part of the silver medal-winning team, and will both be in action in Dubai this week.
Also part of the team are twin sisters, Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen. The twins’ mother introduced them to the sport at the age of seven, concerned that they were too thin. She believed competing in synchronised swimming would strengthen their fragile frames. The sisters, who are identical, took to it immediately, and have enjoyed much success in the pool since then, taking Asian Games gold, World Championships silver and Olympic bronze with the free routine team.
“The Chinese are one of the strongest teams in the world in the sport of synchronised swimming and Dubai crowds are really in for something special when they compete at the 9th Asian Swimming Championships here this week,” said Dr Ahmad Al Sharif, Secretary-General of the Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Organising Committee.
UAE Swimming Federation President Ahmad Al Falasi said: “There are now just a few days left until the start of the 9th Asian Swimming Championships and all the teams are arriving in Dubai for what promises to be a spectacular event. The Chinese synchronised swimming team are just some of a host of Olympians that will be in action in the coming 11 days and we look forward to seeing them in action.”
The 9th Asian Swimming Championships will run from Thursday 15 to Sunday 25 November. The swimming and synchronised swimming competitions will kick off the Championships, running from 15-18 November. Next on the program is the water polo running from 19 to 25 November and the diving from 22 to 25 November.
Tickets to the action are Dh20 for day passes and Dh80 for season passes for all 11 days. Tickets will be available at the entrance and children under 12 enter free of charge.
Apart from all the action in the pool, there will be a number of exciting activities at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex to keep the whole family entertained. From November 15 to 18, and then 22 to 25, children can enjoy inflatable games, face painting, sand art and henna and can meet the Championships clown and mascot. The opening ceremony will take place at 6pm on November 15.
Teams competing in the synchronised swimming competition at the 9th Asian Swimming Championships: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Macau China, Singapore, Uzbekistan.