BUDAPEST, July 22 — Li Zheng and Wang Han held off Britain’s Grace Reid and Tom Daley to earn China’s eighth diving gold of the world aquatic championships in today’s 3m synchro springboard final.

China’s Li and Wang took gold with 323.70 points after a battle with the British pair who led after the first and third rounds, but settled for silver with 308.04 pts.

Chinese divers have now won eight of the ten diving events in Budapest with only the men’s 10m platform this evening — where Britain’s Daley competes again — to come.

Canada’s duo Jennifer Abel and Francois Imbeau-Dulac took bronze with 297.72 pts.

Wang, who defended the world title she won two years ago with a different partner, and Li were only joint fourth after the first round.

However, their near-immaculate dives saw them lead after each of the last three rounds and claimed victory in the fifth with two half somersaults with a twist pike.

Daley, 23, who won the 10m platform gold at the 2009 world championships, hugged the sobbing Reid when their final dive, a three-and-a-half somersaults pike, gave them silver ahead of Canada. — AFP