Defending champ happy to be an underdog

Beijing Olympic 10m platform diving champion Matthew Mitcham of Australia is not the favorite anymore, as recent injuries have made him an underdog at the London Games.

But he is pleased by a development that has placed the pressure of favoritism on the world champion Qiu Bo and Thomas Daley.

"I feel quite grateful," he said.

"Because of all these injuries, a lot of expectation has been lifted off me. People underestimate how much having the weight of expectation can affect you. Some athletes deal with that better than others.

"The Chinese divers will be going for as many gold medals as possible. They will have an incredible amount of pressure on their backs."

Mitcham made Olympic history in Beijing in 2008 with his sixth, and final, dive, which scored 112.10 points - the highest single-dive total.

It enabled him to snatch gold from the local favorite Zhou Luxin and deny China the chance of a clean sweep in men's and women's diving.

Since then, he has been beset by injuries, including a severe abdominal muscle tear that forced him to pull out of the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai.