Chinese gymnast Zou claims men's parallel bars title at Tokyo Olympics

Zou Jingyuan of China competes during the artistic gymnastics men's parallel bars final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Zou Jingyuan of China grabbed the gold medal in the men's parallel bars with 16.233 points, which was beyond his own expectation.

TOKYO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese gymnast Zou Jingyuan snatched gold in the men's parallel bars at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

Zou topped the competition in 16.233 points, followed by German Lukas Dauser in 15.700 points.

23-year-old Zou, who placed first in the qualification, received an unparalleled 9.333 in execution score in the final, securing the second gymnastics gold for China in Tokyo.

Zou's execution score also surpassed Dauser by 0.200 points. Troubled by a shoulder injury, the Chinese gymnast placed 16th at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, following two gold medals from Montreal 2017 and Doha 2018.

"Everybody's performance was very good, especially the German and Turkish. Actually I don't feel I did a very good job, and I don't know why I still got the gold medal," he said after the final.

"I have a very good coach, and parallel bars is one of China's strongest apparatus. When I was a child I started practicing on parallel bars, which was my starting point in gymnastics," he said.

Dauser trailed Zou by a gap of 0.533 points to finish second.

"I still can't really believe it. I can't really put into words what this means to me," said Dauser. "I was fully concentrated on my routine. I am super proud I was able to pull it off and that I will bring a silver medal home with me."

Turkey's Ferhat Arican took bronze in 15.633 points.

"I was the first gymnast (to compete). I didn't think about the other gymnasts. I just focused on myself and my routine. This is my ritual," he said.

China's You Hao, the silver medalist in the rings, finished fourth in 15.466 points.