In Jakarta, Indonesia, 19-year-old debutant Hong Yanming clinched the men's pommel horse title at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, delivering the Chinese mainland's first gold medal of the event.
Hong scored 14.600 points, tying with Armenia's Mamikon Khachatryan but edging ahead on execution. The United States' Patrick Hoopes claimed bronze with 14.566.
"This is my first world championships, and my goal was just to reach the final," Hong said. "When I saw my name in second place after qualification, I knew I had a chance. I just told myself to relax and do what I do in training." He hopes this gold is a springboard toward the Los Angeles Olympics.
On the women's uneven bars, Algeria's Kaylia Nemour dominated to take gold with 15.566. Russia's Angelina Melnikova edged out the Chinese mainland's Yang Fanyuwei for silver on tie-break (14.500 each), leaving Yang with bronze.
"Although I made a small error on the bars, I'm happy I finished my routine at my first major competition," Yang said, noting the value of high-pressure experience.
In the men's rings final, top qualifier Lan Xingyu added bronze for the Chinese mainland with 14.500, behind Donnell Whittenburg of the United States (14.700) and TĂĽrkiye's Adem Asil (14.566). Fellow mainlander Zhang Boheng just missed the podium in fourth (14.466).
"Going first made me more nervous than usual," Lan admitted. "It's a good lesson for me to handle pressure better in future events."
The women's vault day ended in disappointment for the Chinese mainland's Deng Yalan, who failed to touch the vaulting table on her first attempt and was ruled out of contention. Russia's Angelina Melnikova claimed her second gold (14.466), followed by Canada's Lia-Monica Fontaine (14.033) and the United States' Joscelyn Roberson (13.983).
As the competition continues, the Chinese mainland squad will aim to build on these mixed lessons as they set their sights on Paris 2024 and beyond.
Reference(s):
Hong Yanming wins first gold medal for China at Gymnastics Worlds
cgtn.com
