Shin Jung-whi secures semifinal spot in men’s 10-meter platform at Paris Olympics

Shin Jung-whi qualifies for men's 10-meter platform semifinal while Kim Yeong-taek falls short.

Korea's Shin Jung-whi competes in the men's 10m platform diving preliminary at the Paris Olympics on Friday in Saint-Denis, France. [AP/YONHAP]

Korean diver Shin Jung-whi qualified for the men’s 10-meter platform semifinal at the Paris Olympics after finishing in 14th place in the preliminary round, while countryman Kim Yeong-taek failed to do so after a 24th-place finish.

The top 18 of 26 divers at Aquatic Centre in Paris qualified for the semifinals. Shin scored 369.2 points to reach the semifinals at his first Olympics, but Kim’s 320.4 fell short.

Diving events are contested on a high-dive platform, with divers scoring points based on techniques they pull off over six rounds and difficulty.

Cao Yuan of China topped the standings with 500.15 points, followed by 497.15 by Rikuto Tamai of Japan.

Six Korean divers compete at this year’s Olympics. The country has yet to see a medal in the sport at the Games as of press time Friday.

Woo Ha-ram also failed to medal after finishing in 11th place in the men’s 3-meter springboard final on Thursday.

The men’s 10-meter platform semifinal will start Saturday, followed by the final later on the same day.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]