South Korean diver Woo Ha-ram advanced to the final in the men's 1m springboard at the 2019 FINA World Championships on Friday, raising hopes for the host country's first medal in the event.

Woo finished third among 44 divers with 396.10 points after six attempts in the preliminary at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center to qualify for the final, open to the top 12 divers in the preliminary.

Fellow South Korean Kim Yeong-nam placed 13th with 349.10 points.

The final will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the same venue.

Woo's career high in an individual event at a world championships is a seventh-place finish in the 3m springboard in 2015.

In diving, the highest and lowest points from seven judges are dropped to leave three "raw" scores. The total raw score is then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of the dive.

Woo found himself in the lead after two dives with 139 points.

He slipped to second place behind Wang Zongyuan of China after the third attempt, with Wang posting 75.20 points to move to 211.70 points, 5.5 ahead of the South Korean.

Wang outdid himself in the fourth attempt with 76.50 points, while Woo scored 62.40 points to fall behind by 19.60 points.

Woo's place in the final already appeared secure at that point, as he was nearly 40 points clear of 12th place.

Woo fell as low as 10th after the fifth attempt with a flat 60, his lowest score of the day, but bounced back with 67.50 points.

Wang Zongyuan of China topped the preliminary with 429.40 points, followed by countryman Peng Jianfeng at 410.80 points.

This was the first diving preliminary at these world championships, whose opening ceremony will take place Friday evening. (Yonhap)