China takes silver while Japan wins men's team title at gymnastics junior worlds

Silver medalists team China attend the awarding ceremony for the men's team final at the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Trkiye, on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANTALYA, Trkiye, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China settled for silver in the men's team finals on the opening day of the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships on Wednesday, as a trio of Japanese gymnasts won the title.

Japan's Tanida Masaharu was the top qualifier in three-apparatus finals. Pommel horse problems aside, Tanida earned the best scores on floor exercise, parallel bars and horizontal bars.

The 2019 champions defended their title by a 3.6-point margin over the Chinese team of Yang Chunjie, He Xiang and Qin Guohuan, with a young Italy squad claiming bronze.

"Challenging strong contenders like Japan will help the Chinese athletes grow and become more competitive. These young Chinese gymnasts only trained in the training camp for two months and they made big progress," said Chinese team leader Gao Xiang. "They did a good job in the competition."

Wednesday's team final also served as the qualification for the all-around and apparatus finals later this week.

Silver medalists team China attend the awarding ceremony for the men's team final at the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Trkiye, on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Gold medalists team Japan (C), silver medalists team China (L) and bronze medalists team Italy attend the awarding ceremony for the men's team final at the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Trkiye, on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Qin Guohuan of China competes in the floor exercise competition of the men's team event at the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Trkiye, on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Silver medalists team China attend the awarding ceremony for the men's team final at the 2nd Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Trkiye, on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)