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China May Face Empty Hands at Gymnastics World Championships
With its top gymnasts staying at home for their 9th National Games, the eight-member Chinese squad in the world gymnastics championships may return home with empty hands for the first time in recent 10 years.
China, five-time defending champions in men's team event, sent a "B" lineup with an average age of 18 to the biannual event for the congesting schedule with its National Games slated to kick off on November 12.
Zhang Jian, chief official of the Chinese Gymnastics Association, said: "We could not field the top lineups in the world championships this year, considering our National Games and the four-year Olympics cycle."
With the technical excellence and the depth of talent, China claimed its first Olympic Games men's team title in Sydney Olympic Games. The Chinese man's squad was one of the top favorites in the 1992 and the 1996 games but only to fold under the pressure and finish second to Russia.
With the inexperienced young team, Zhang believed it is hard to defend their team title and return the fifth consecutive crown.
"We realized we may have a no-medal result at the end. But we want to train our young athletes and try to find someone who may become a future tenor at 2004 Olympic Game," Zhang said.
Among the seven boys, only Zhang Shangwu, who came out as a surprise winner on the rings at the World University Games in Beijing last September, has a sort of international experience while all his teammates are totally new to the worlds.
"Zhang is hardly to repeat the feat as what he did at the students games because the Europeans athletes are very strong on the rings here. However, Xiao Qin may turn out as a dark horse on the pommel," Zhang revealed.
The 17-year-old Xiao is lean and mean on pommels. He swings two routines with 10.0 Start Value while many of his Olympic champions teammates can not manage even one after the new code scoring system imposed this year.
Xiao, who is eager to get recognition through Ghent, said:"I hope I can perform my best and earn my first international medal here."
Not only Xiao is aiming high at medal, Sun Xiaojiao, the sole Chinese women gymnast here in Ghent, also dreams a colorful finish at her third international performance this year.
Sun, 17, a delicate winner on the balance beam at the World Cup event in Paris in March and Goodwill Games on September, expects to complete a hat-trick on that apparatus.
She said: "I had regular training at home and feel OK since I have arrived in Belgium on Oct. 20. I have no injury. I have nothing to loss. "
"The only thing I am not familiar with is that I am alone in the competition with no other teammate girls behind me and supporting me," said Sun with an impression of loneliness.
It is the first time that the Sydney Olympic Games women's team bronze medalist China give up the opportunity to send its young potentials to earn international experience at the biannual world event.
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