On November 2nd, the diving events of the 15th National Games kicked off in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The women’s team synchronized (同步的) 10-meter platform final was a highlight, where the Guangdong pair Quan Hongchan and Wang Weiying took center stage. This marked Quan’s first official competition in five months after recovering from an injury.

As the last group to compete, Quan and her new partner faced high expectations. When they stood at the edge of the 10-meter platform, the audience fell silent immediately. At the referee’s whistle, they jumped in perfect sync with clean movements. Spinning 2.5 times in the air with their bodies as straight as steel plates, they entered the water with barely a splash. The judges quickly gave them 76.50 points, pushing them to first place, 0.9 points ahead of the previous leader. After three rounds, they scored 235.86 points, winning the event and helping Guangdong defend its team gold medal.

Remarkably, the pair had only trained together for three weeks. At the start, their synchronization error was 0.5 seconds. To prepare for the game, they added four extra training hours every day. They broke down each movement to the millisecond and practiced their entry angles repeatedly.​

While their hard work in training paid off with a shining medal, Quan’s personal path to this comeback was filled with unseen struggles. Her last international meet was in early May in Beijing. Shortly after, though she traveled to the National Diving Championships, she had to withdraw because of her physical condition. During her time away from the sport, Quan faced numerous challenges — one of the most difficult being weight control. To meet the strict physical standards required for diving, she followed a detailed weight management plan designed by her coaching team. She weighed herself multiple times a day, tracking any changes down to the gram.

1. 1. What can be inferred about Quan’s return to the competition?

A    She had participated in many recent competitions.

B    It was her comeback after an injury.

C    She focused solely on individual training.

D    She won the event with ease.

2. 2. How is Quan and Wang’s performance in the dive described?

A    They made a large splash.

B    They had synchronization issues.

C    They finished in second place.

D    They achieved excellent results.

3. 3. What does the pair’s short training period of three weeks suggest?

A    They relied on natural talent.

B    They had previous experience together.

C    They underwent intensive training.

D    They lacked sufficient preparation.

4. 4. What was a major difficulty Quan faced during her break from competition?

A    Controlling her body weight.

B    Recovering from physical pain.

C    Adapting to a new partner.

D    Traveling to various events.