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Where EAST meets the Northwest

RAISING THE BAR. Chinese gymnasts — from left, Zou Kai, Teng Haibin, Yan Mingyong, Feng Zhe, and Chen Yibing — wave on the podium after winning the men’s team final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. The win gives China its fifth straight title at the world gymnastics championships. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

From The Asian Reporter, V21, #20 (October 17, 2011), page 10.

TOKYO (AP) – Never, ever count China out.

Looking vulnerable after an ordinary performance in qualifying, the Chinese men came roaring back to win their fifth straight title at the world gymnastics championships.

The team finished with 275.161 points, more than two ahead of Japan and the United States, and walked off the floor with their index fingers held aloft — as if there’s a doubt who is No. 1.

"We aim for gold," Zou Kai said.

And they have plenty of it. The Chinese have won every world title dating back to 2003, as well as two of the last three Olympic gold medals. Every gymnast on the floor earlier this month had at least three gold medals from worlds, and Chen Yibing has seven.

The Chinese are so used to the goodies that come with their gold medals, they didn’t bother hanging onto the flowers given to the medalists, tossing them to their fans in the stands. But they beamed with pride as they listened to their national anthem.

"It’s exciting every time because you can always make history," Zou said through a translator.

China has dominated men’s gymnastics since 2006, running away with the team gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and all but one of the seven individual titles. They added a fourth straight title at last year’s worlds, as well as the golds on still rings, parallel bars, and high bar.

A similar gold rush was expected in Tokyo. China returned five gymnasts from last year’s title squad.

But after finishing third behind Japan and the Americans in qualifying, many wondered if China’s reign was ending.

Not even close.

"I’m very happy because during qualifying, China was third," Zou said. "But we won in the final so it’s very exciting."

A close third with two events to go, they pulled away with spectacular showings on high bar and floor exercise. Zhang Chenglong, the defending world champion on high bar, got such great height on his release moves it’s a good thing the overhead camera wasn’t zooming around or there might have been a collision. Yet he landed each with complete nonchalance, as if flinging yourself 12 feet in the air and grabbing a thin pipe on the way back down is a breeze.

Zhang pumped his fist as he left the podium, and his teammates screamed.

They put on a tumbling clinic on floor exercise, with Zou Kai landing each pass so perfectly it was as if he had flypaper on his feet. He pumped his fist as he trotted off the podium and the Chinese started celebrating — not even caring that two-time world champion Kohei Uchimura still had to go on high bar.

They needn’t have worried because Uchimura miscalculated on a somersault high above the bar. The home crowd gasped — Uchimura doesn’t miss — and Uchimura sat on the mat for a second, his head bowed.

"It’s kind of disappointing, honestly," Kenya Kobayashi said of the silver. "I believed we could catch China."

The Japanese made the final interesting, with both Yusuke Tanaka and Uchimura falling off on high bar. But even with the fall, Uchimura’s routine was so difficult and smooth it was enough to keep the Japanese in front of the United States.

For the U.S., it was the first medal at worlds since taking the silver in 2003. The team finished a mere hundredth of a point behind Japan, something that will likely serve as motivation for next summer’s London Olympics.