Quan Hongchan of China competes during the women's 10m platform diving semifinal at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 18, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

FUKUOKA, Japan - China's Olympic champion Quan Hongchan beat Chen Yuxi twice on Tuesday in the women's 10m platform diving qualifying rounds to come closer to her first world individual title.

Chen, 17, and Quan, 16, are teammates and synchro partners in the star-studded Chinese team. They won the synchronized platform gold medal in two consecutive World Championships, but they are also each other's biggest threat in the major international competitions.

Quan won the preliminary round on the morning with a score of 435.60 points, 42.60 ahead of Chen. She went on to win the semifinal with 451.40 points, beating Chen again by 21.35 points.

The final on Wednesday night is of great significance for both teen stars. Quan would be crowned for the first time as the women's 10m platform world champion while Chen could complete a hattrick of individual titles.

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The final on Wednesday night is of great significance for teen stars Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi. Quan would be crowned for the first time as the women's 10m platform world champion while Chen could complete a hattrick of individual titles

Most importantly, a victory could give further consolation to Chen and more confidence in her preparation for the Paris Olympics.

Chen came to the Tokyo Olympic Games as the world champion but Quan, who was only 14, rose to the occasion, getting the better of her teammate with a new world record for Olympic gold.

In last year's World Championships in Budapest, Chen avenged her defeat, edging Quan by 0.3 points to win the gold for the second time.

"I don't feel nervous," Quan said after the day's semifinal. "I just focus on my own dives and will not care about other people. I do not think about the results either."

It seems that luck is on Quan's side again this time. Chen noted that she had caught a cold.

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"You cannot recover from a cold in 24 hours," Chen said.