Gymnastic: Chinese Gymnasts Grasp Three More Golds at Asiad

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, October 05, 2002

Gymnastic: Chinese Gymnasts Grasp Three More Golds at Asiad

Chinese gymnasts collected three of the five golds at stake on Friday in the gymnastic tournament of the 14th Asian Games, bringing their gold tally to seven.

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Chinese gymnasts collected three of the five golds at stake on Friday in the gymnastic tournament of the 14th Asian Games, bringing their gold tally to seven.

The Chinese triumphed in the men's pommel horse, rings and women's uneven bars, together with other three winners from the hosts and the People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), while South Koreatook the men's floor and Uzbekistan won the women's vault.

Teng Haibin took the pommel horse with a near perfect execution,scoring 9.750.

"I am not at all nervous, because I am confident that I can winthe gold," Teng said.

However, the top honor ushered in another winner Kim Hyon-il ofDPR Korea, who scored the identical points with Teng, while Japan's Takehiro Kashima took the bronze.

Olymic champion Huang Xu shared the rings gold medal with host South Korea's Kim Dong-hwa at 9.800 point, while Lai Kuo Cheng from Chinese Taipei and Japan's Hiroyuki Tomita pocketed the bronze medal apiece.

As a veteran, Huang Xu was extremely calm and confident on the rings.

"I have expected the result before the contest," Huang Xu told Xinhua after the rivalry, saying that his family also expected hischampionship.

But Yang Wei, another Chinese Olympic champion, failed to defend his Asiad title on the floor, handing it to South Korea's Kim Seung-il after he kept it for four years since the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok.

Yang only settled for the bronze at 9.400 with a routine which has the maximum value of 9.7.

Chinese top gymnastic official Zhang Jian said that Yang "couldhave grabbed the gold if he performed another routine with a starting value of 10."

"Yang Wei skipped the difficult combition, because he fell to the ground in Thursday's all-around event and was a little afraid of it."

Yang vowed to improve his floor performance after the Asian Games by "making painstaking efforts to improve his skills on the floor."

Kim Seung-il garnered 9.525 to grip the floor gold medal, aheadof DPR Korean Jo Jong-chol who got the silver. And another Chinese entry Liang Fuliang collected an event-low 8.975 in the event.

In the women's field, all-around champion Zhang Nan awarded China its seventh gymnastic gold from the uneven bars, closing to China's pre-Games goal of eight out of the 10 golds on offer in the Asian Games.

Han Jong-ok of DPR Korea also struck the gold in the uneven bars as both gymnasts scored 9.500 points, and So Jong-ok settled for the bronze.

Zhang's compatriot Chen Miaojie was expected to take the gold, but the nervous teenager got an event-low 8.875 after falling fromthe beam, her strongest discipline.

Oskana Chusovitina, 27, the oldest gymnast in the world, expectedly grasped the gold of the vault for Uzbekistan, where China's Liu Wei and Huang Jing finished second and third respectively.

"Our women players performed to their best on the vault," head national coach Lu Shanzhen told Xinhua, "The result is expected."

Earlier, China has won all four golds in the men's and women's team and all-around events since the five-day gymnastic tournamentstarted on Tuesday.

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