GWANGJU, South Korea, July 13 -- Chinese mixed pair Shi Haoyu and Zhang Yayi qualified for the finals in artistic swimming on the second day of the 18th FINA World Championships here on Saturday.

Shi and Zhang finished fifth in the mixed duet technical preliminaries, advancing to the finals scheduled for Sunday.

A total of nine pairs competed at the mixed duets.

The Chinese duo performed under the theme of "The Dragon" at Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju, around 330 km south of South Korea's capital Seoul.

Shi and Zhang scored 85.2740 points, 6.3138 behind the frontrunners, Russian pair of Aleksandr Maltsev and Mayya Gurbanberdieva. Giorgio Minisini/Manila Flamini of Italy and Atsushi Abe/Yumi Adachi of Japan came in second and third each.

"Although it is the second time in the worlds, it was a bit nervous," said the 17-year-old Shi who noted that the most important of all would be to find the best styles with his teammate.

Zhang, 22, said she felt nervous over participating in the world championships, but she noted that their performance was the best the duo can do together.

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