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China Expects Sixth on Team Final at Gymnastics Worlds
Five-time world champions China expected a sixth place finish in the team final after it came to fifth with two more subdivisions to come in the men's qualifying round at the World Gymnastics Championships Monday morning in Ghent, Belgium.
China earned 218.296 points though suffered big falls from the high bar with the lowest score 33.787 among the top eight teams so far. Only two gymnasts Liu Jinyu and Deng Weiwei did not bother by a fall.
Wang Hongwei, the head coach of the Chinese team, said:"They did a pretty good job. It is understandable that they were nervous for their first international event."
China sent an inexperienced young team to the worlds while its top gymnasts stayed at home, gunning for its Ninth National Games to be kicked off on Nov.12.
"We will be very happy if we earn a sixth place finish in the team final," Wang said.
It is the first time that China may suffer a medal drought at the worlds after it dominated the men's team competition for four consecutive times in the last decade.
However, the Chinese still pinned on its medal hope on Xiao Qin, a specialist on pommel horse, to win a medal.
Xiao claimed 9.675 points for his top spot in the event, beating Russia's Nikolai Krukov, bronze medalist at last worlds into second for the same score but for a event high 9.85 to Krukov 's 9.70.
The 17-year-old said:"I made a little mistake in my routine. Fortunately I did not lose my rhythm."
Feng Jing also made the final in all-around with a currently eighth place while Zhang Shangwu, a surprise winner on rings at the World University Games this year, came to fourth on parallel bars.
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