China’s men’s gymnastics team saw their gold medal hopes dashed in the final moments of the high bar routine at the Paris Olympics, resulting in a silver finish behind Japan.
Paris, Bollywoodfever: Chinese gymnasts were left distraught after their gold medal hopes were abruptly dashed in the final moments of the men’s team competition at the Paris Olympics on Monday, following two error-laden routines on the high bar.
With only three performances left on their final apparatus, China led Japan by more than three points, seemingly securing the title. However, things went awry when Xiao Ruoteng botched his dismount, landing on both knees and earning his lowest score of the day, 13.433.
Incredibly, for a team who barely had a toe out of place during their first five rotations, their gold medal hopes quickly unraveled. Su Weide, the next Chinese competitor, lost his grip twice and came crashing down on the mat while attempting release and catch maneuvers during his routine. This mishap knocked China from first place to second, leaving the entire team shellshocked as Japan snatched the gold. The United States claimed bronze.
“If I think about it now, I might still be in tears,” Xiao, part of the bronze medal-winning Chinese team at the Tokyo Games, told reporters. “The reason why we seemed so sad is because we are always fighting to be number one and we have higher aspirations. We want to win.”
Rings specialist Liu Yang, a 29-year-old competing in his third Olympics, blamed himself for not providing his younger teammate Su with more support. “As a senior member of the team, I didn’t give him the right messages and mental leadership,” he said. “I didn’t do well enough.”
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