British diving performance director Alexei Evangulov, who publicly questioned Tom Daley’s Olympic credentials just three months ago, now considers him as a man who can break China’s dominance at 2012 London Olympics.

Three months ago Evangulov criticised Tom saying he was the fifth-best 10 metre platform diver in the world and was distracted by his media commitments. However, Evangulov was forced to change his assessment after Daley’s performance in past months.

Daley, who turned 18 on yesterday, was crowned World Series champion last month. He also reclaimed his European title in Eindhoven on Sunday, with a personal-best 565.05.

“That result will scare the Chinese – it will get them worried. Thomas is not even at his best now. I expect that in July he will be better. There are no obstacles at the moment, Tom is fully focused”, Evangulov resonated with confidence.

Although Daley’s success in Holland was his second personal best, but Evangulov admits he is still capable of catching up with China’s world champion Qiu Bo and Lin Yue.

“If you look at his results his personal best, it’s still below the Chinese. But there is one thing that makes me optimistic – the Chinese scores are high but last year and two years ago they were at the same level. They are close to 600 but they are not improving. Thomas is getting closer”, said Evangulov.

Evangulov’s comments about Daley are completely in contrast with his view of the Plymouth diver before February’s World Cup. The Russian claimed that Tom was not training enough and his Chinese rivals trained “three times harder”.

However, now Evangulov believes that Tom’s body has changed dramatically and he has matured into a “strong man”. “He is very strong. You have to be if you want to win an Olympic medal”, insists Evangulov.

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