Injury-hit Daley now has eyes set on Olympic title

While Daley and Brick were beaming after being crowned Commonwealth champions in the 10m synchro, double world junior title holder Jack Laugher was in the unaccustomed position of finishing last with partner Oliver Dingley, the pair having a combined age of 32, in the 3m event.

Of the British divers competing yesterday, only Nick Robinson-Baker and Rebecca Gallantree, at 23 and 26 respectively, had progressed beyond their teenage years.

And – with the likes of Alicia Blagg, national 1m champion at 13 – the future is bright as the youngsters hold their own against senior opposition.

National performance director Alexei Evangulov said: "I am really optimistic about the future.

"There is a great future, we will see. All the world is already talking about them."

Daley, the child prodigy, and Brick claimed the Home Nations' first diving medal of the competition, edging the Australian pair of Matthew Mitcham, the Olympic 10m platform champion, and Ethan Warren into second.

The young English pair, with London 2012 chairman Seb Coe looking on, scored 439.65 points, 15.84 ahead of Australia with Canada third and Malaysia last in a four-team final in which only gold and silver medals were awarded.

For Daley it brings to an end 14 difficult months since he won the 10m platform crown at last year's World Championships in Rome.

The 16-year-old has had to adapt to new, more difficult dives as well as contending with injury and growing to 5ft 8ins.

The Plymouth teenager put all that behind him as he and Brick held the lead they took in the second round despite a superb final dive by the Australians which Daley admitted had the pair shaking with tension.

Daley said: "It has been a difficult year since Rome with injury, growing and learning new dives.

"It has been tough.

"We were only training 10 days at the European Championships before I tore my tricep and we had 10 days before we came here so it's only been 20 days of training since Rome and we've come away with a Commonwealth gold medal."

He added: "It's amazing. I've just got one more title to get before the end of my career and that is the Olympic gold.

"That is the aim I've got to get before I retire.

"I hope to try and do as many Olympics as I can before my body falls apart and I'd love to keep going until I get that gold medal."

For Southampton diver Brick it was his first major title and only his second medal in international competition.

He said: "I don't have words to describe how I feel at the moment. You just can't keep the smile off my face. Just pretty happy."

Daley's coach Andy Banks described himself as "over the moon".

He revealed Daley's participation in Delhi was still in doubt days before he arrived in India with the shoulder injury he suffered at the European Championships in Budapest being frequently assessed at the team's training camp in Leeds.