"I think our young athletes did really well, especially Xu, along with other swimmers who competed in individual events," Zhang Xiaohuan said. "I've seen their improvement, but they still need to work harder. They will carry China's flag in the future, and they need to keep improving."

Guo Muye, 17, competing in his first world championships, claimed a historic silver in the men's solo free. Twin sisters Lin Yanjun and Lin Yanhan, also debuting at the worlds, earned a silver in the women's duet technical.

"I have higher expectations, but I accept that this is the best our team can do right now with a new lineup in this new cycle," the coach admitted. "I hope we can do even better next time. But, I think we made a big breakthrough in this competition."

Looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Russian swimmers will still be China's biggest competitors.

"They (NAB) have a solid talent pool in artistic swimming. Many of their athletes are very young, born in 2007 and 2008, yet they perform at a very high level," Zhang said. "This is something we really admire and respect. Their performance still remains at a very high standard, with good synchronization, teamwork and consistency. This brings a lot of challenges for us in the future. We won this time, but we still have a long way to go.

"Compared to them, we need to make some adjustments. Many of our veteran swimmers are dealing with injuries, so we'll have to make some changes going forward," Zhang continued. "Also, I think the choreography of Spain, Italy and France is excellent.

"We must always consider ourselves as challengers, and never take the champion's position for granted. We still need to keep improving," Zhang concluded.

XINHUA