BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Evgeniya Kanaeva led a Russian one-two in the Individual all-around and Belarus led the group all-around qualifications of the Beijing Olympic rhythmic gymnastics tournament on Friday.

    Host China entered the group final in third place, but its athlete Li Hongyang, competing with a wild card, failed to make the final.

    On day two of the group qualifications, China, which ended second after the five-rope routine on Thursday, earned 17.700 points, and made the final with a total of 34.700 points.

    China, which has not won any Olympic rhythmic gymnastics medal so far, is seeking a breakthrough in the team event.

    Belarus, which placed fourth at Athens 2004 and the first finisher in Thursday's group qualifications, consolidated its rank, sailing into the final in first place with a collection of 34.950 points.

    Russia, winner of the group title in the past two Olympic Games and four world championships in a row, pushed two notches up, from the 4th place on Thursday to second place on Friday.

    Italy, the group silver medallist at the Athens Olympics, made the final in fourth place, accumulating 34.525 points after two routines.

    Bulgaria, the bronze medallist in Athens, finished fifth with 33.7 points.

    "We are quite satisfied with our performance today and we are in a good mood now," said Vira Perederiy of Ukraine, which entered the final in sixth place. "We will make every effort to get a better result than in 2004 Athens Olympic Games."

    "We performed well today. Our mentality helped us a lot. Our goal is to show the best of ourselves on the Olympic stage," said Sun Dan of the Chinese team.

    Her teammate Zhang Shuo said: "We're not thinking too much about a medal. We just want to show the whole world our sweetest smile."

    The individual qualifications saw a close rivalry between first-placed Kanaeva and her compatriot Olga Kapranova.

    European all-around champion Kanaeva, placed second after Kapranova after Thursday's rope and hoop rounds, impressed judges with the two most difficult routines on Friday, which saw gymnasts perform with ribbon and clubs.

    She entered the final in first place with 74.075 points.

    Kapranova, gold medallist in the 2005 world championships, followed behind with a score of 72.900 points.

    If either Russian gymnast wins the all-around final, it will be the third consecutive Olympic gold for Russia, a traditional rhythmic gymnastics powerhouse.

    Ukraine's Anna Bessonova, the bronze medallist in Athens and the only Athens medallist competing at the Beijing Games, performed two powerful routines Friday earning her a score of 72.825 points, trailing after the Russian pair.

    Bessonova said her lower difficulty value in the qualifications is her strategy in the qualification. "The goal of qualification is to enter the final smoothly and successfully. In the final, I will show my full potential."

    "I have Olympic experience and I have prepared for the Beijing Games by performing well at previous world championships. Experience is my greatest advantage," she said.

    The top 10 gymnasts and top eight teams from the qualifications will advance to the finals.