Feature: Chinese coach falls in love with Mexico diving

KAZAN, Russia, July 11 (Xinhua) -- She is called "Chinese mother" by Mexico's "diving queen" Paola Espinosa. She is awarded the "Order of the Aztec Eagle", the highest decoration awarded to foreigners in Mexico.

Her name is Ma Jin, an easygoing Chinese woman and hardworking diving coach.

In 2002, Mexico signed a deal with Beijing to import Chinese coaches. Ma was among them to come to the unfamiliar country which is far away from China in 2003.

"I miss my home, but I love my divers more," Ma, who leads her Mexican team competing at the Kazan Universiade told Xinhua.

At the very beginning of her arrival in Mexico, even the language was a problem, not to mention the cultural difference and the customs. Although experiencing a hard time at the start of her stay in Mexico, Ma has become acclimatized now and can speak fluent Spanish.

"I always believe the motto of survival of the fitness. When you come to a new place, you cannot change the environment, you have to change yourself," said Ma.

After Ma's arrival, changes were huge in the past 10 years, not only to herself, but also to Mexico's diving.

With the guide of Ma, diving in Mexico enjoys fast-speed development. In the London Olympics, her diving team earned three of Mexico's seven medals.

One of the proud "products" made by Ma is Espinosa. The most popular "diving queen" in Mexico won two Olympic medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and top prize in the women's platform in 2009 World Championships, outclassing Chinese Olympic star Chen Ruolin.