Li Xiao-Peng lays groundwork for Chinese medals haul
By Emmeline Moore
Li Xiao-Peng
DEBRECEN, Hungary, (AFP) - Olympic champion Li Xiao-Peng laid the groundwork for a Chinese medal haul at the world artistic gymnastics championships here last Friday by leading the parallel bars and vault semi-finals.
Former world vault champion Li, 22, was in a class of his own on the parallel bars and was neck-and-neck with Poland's Leszek Blanik on the vault after they both scored 9.718 after two jumps.
Chinese team-mate Yang Wei was third on the vault ahead of Romanian Marian Dragulescu.
The Asian giants are also contenders in the pommel horse with Xiao Qin, who led qualifiers, second behind Olympic and world champion Marius Urzica of Romania, who beat him last year in Ghent, Belgium.
Team-mate Teng Haibin, second after qualifying, just made the final in eighth position after a minor error which cost him dearly.
Urzica scored 9.750 with Xiao just behind on 9.737 and France's Eric Casimir third on 9.662 going into Saturday's final which promises to be a rematch of last year's title battle.
But Urzica was confident that he could see off the Chinese challenge to achieve his third world title. "Even if I made some minor mistakes I feel they will be alright in the final," he said.
Yang Wei is also in the medal chase after placing third on both the floor routine and vault.
Defending parallel bars champion Sean Townsend of the United States failed to make the cut with Li scoring 9.587 ahead of his nearest challenger Andreu Vivo of Spain, 9.512, and Slovenia's Mitja Petkovsek third on 9.487
As the Chinese were dominating, the once-powerful Russian team were a shadow of their former selves.
King of the tumblers Alexei Nemov crashed out of the championships when he failed to make the cut on his floor speciality finishing 12th, and fared worse on the high bar in 13th. Only the top eight qualify for the finals.
Nikolai Krukov carries Russian hopes on the pommel horse where he qualified in seventh place, but it looks as if they will be going home empty handed for the second consecutive year.
Defending floor co-champion Dragulescu led that discipline with 9.712 ahead of Spain's Gervasio Deferr, 9.650. Last year's joint gold medallist Jordan Jovtchev of Bulgaria qualified in sixth with 9.587.
Title-holder Jovtchev of Bulgaria once again edged arch-rival and Olympic champion Szilveszter Csollany of Hungary in the rings.
Csollany, who has won every title on rings except the world where he has been runner-up five times, felt his score of 9.675 to Jovtchev's 9.700 did not do justice to his routine.
"I know everyone expects me to win
but it's not only up to me," said 32-year-old Csollany. "I
think I was better than in qualification that is why I wonder
why my scores don't reflect this."
Jovtchev, 29, is feeling confident.
"I'm sure I'll win on Saturday," the US-based gymnast said. "Of course there is no exercise that couldn't be improved but for all that me and my coach are satisifed with what I accomplished today."
On the high bar Japan's Isao Yoneda just edged ahead of world and European champion Vlasios Maras of Greece with Paul Hamm of the United States third.
While the Romanian and Chinese men were making their mark their women's teams were in crisis.
Defending beam champion Andreea Raducan, 19, competing in her final championships, crashed out in tenth.
Romania, who won a record fifth team title last year, with Raducan taking gold on floor and beam and third all around, now face a stiff challenge to make the medal's table this time round.
Chinese star Zhang Nan was also on her way back to Beijing after the 16-year-old, hailed as the revelation of these worlds after heading qualification for the beam and floor, failed to reach the finals in either and also missed out on uneven bars.
Zhang fell off the beam twice to finish 13th meaning that China will be without a medallist in the event for the first time since 1995.
"I'm disappointed because I'm in good form and came to Debrecen to win a medal. I won all the apparatus and individual all-around events at the Asia Games this year," said Zhang
"I feel sorry for this here but it was my first world competition so I have enough time to improve myself and get better results," she said, adding that she was hampered by hurting her leg after falling off the beam.
US rookies Samantha Sheehan and Ashley Postell, both 16, got their champaigns off to a strong start by leading the floor and beam respectively.
Russian star Svetlana Khorkina, 23, who is bidding for her sixth consecutive world crown on uneven bars, easily dominated that discipline with a record 9.762 ahead of American Courtney Kupets and was third on the beam.
Veteran Oxana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan showed her younger competitors that age and motherhood are no obstacle to success with the 27-year-old former world and Olympic champion leading the vault, placing sixth on the beam and qualifying in eighth and final position on the floor.
This year's championships have no team or all-around events with athletes competing for individual apparatus titles - vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.
The finals took place on Saturday and Sunday