Esther Qin will fly the Australian flag in the final of the women’s 3m springboard but Tokyo teammate Anabelle Smith narrowly missed the 12-diver field.
China’s Shi Tingmao will start Sunday’s final as runaway favourite, with an overall tally of 371.45 from her five dives – 24.6 points clear of her teammate Wang Han.
Two-time Olympian Qin, who finished sixth in Rio five years ago, qualified in eighth spot after opening with a sparkling inward dive that saw the 29-year-old in second place after round one.
She fell to 11th after the second round but continued to climb back up the leaderboard with her final three dives to score a combined 309.15.
Qin’s fellow Australian, Smith, was sitting ninth after the third round but dropped below the cut on her fourth dive and was unable to claw her way back.
AAP
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