Photo: Chen Tao/GT

The artistic gymnastics competition at the FISU World University Games concluded on Saturday, with China holding off a stern challenge from their Asian rivals Japan to lead the medal count in the sport with 9 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze medals.

At a near-capacity 18,000 seat Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multi-Purpose Gymnasium, Saturday witnessed the Chinese gymnasts Du Siyu winning the women's uneven bars, while world champion Lan Xingyu of China led teammate Zou Jingyuan, an Olympic champion in parallel bars, to finish a 1-2 in the men's rings final.

Later in the night, Zou bagged gold in the men's parallel bars, Ou Yushan won the women's floor exercise and Shi Cong claimed silver medal in the men's horizontal bars.

The Japanese team were defeated by China in the team all-around final on Friday, as Chinese athletes dominated the team all-around finals by winning both gold and silver medals in both men's and women's.

Photo: Chen Tao/GT

Both China and Japan were podium finishers in men's artistic gymnastics team all around at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
However, the much-anticipated men's team final, considered a "preview" for the competition at the Asian Games, was caught short by the injury of Japan's two-time Olympic gold medalist Daiki Hashimoto of Juntendo University.

"Hashimoto has always been an opponent I respect very much," Chinese athlete Zhang Boheng told reporters. "It is a pity that he was injured in the second event. I hope that he can recover as soon as possible and return in a good state."

Both Zhang and Hashimoto have been labeled as the top star in the sport for the Paris Olympics. Zhang is the 2021 individual all-around world champion while Hashimoto claimed titles in the 2022 worlds as well as the Olympics.

"I hope we can compete again either at the world championships or the Asian Games," Zhang said of the future prospects of facing Hashimoto.

Both teams will have a packed schedule in September, when the Asian Games kicks off while the world championship also starts at the end of September.

China's head coach Chen Wei said the team and individual all-around competitions at the Universiade showcased a level of performance akin to the Olympic Games.

"This competition has provided valuable insights into the strengths of the Japanese team, evident in their technical precision and team spirit," Chen told reporters.

"As we move forward, we will strive to strengthen ourselves by learning from these strengths and addressing our own areas for improvement."