BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Despite being a powerhouse in the world of gymnastics, China faces an uphill battle toward the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
China swept nine golds out of 14 at the Beijing Olympics. Although it experienced a sharp slide four years later in London, China set the pace in the medal table with four gold medals and eight in total, ahead of Team USA that had three golds and six in all.
Now, the question is: Who will be No. 1 in the Rio Olympics?
At the world championships in Nanning, China, in October, China managed three golds, three silvers and one bronze, trailing the United States that had a 4-2-4 record.
American teenager Simone Biles pulled off four golds, becoming the first female gymnast to win a second straight all-around world crown since 2003. The 17-year-old topped the vault, floor exercise, all-around and team. She is expected to be a force to reckon with in Rio.
In the men's events, China's traditional stronghold is being encroached upon by Japan. China's most valued victory at the world championships came from the men's team, which was an admirable sixth straight title finish. China is also the men's team champion in last Olympics, but its dominance wasn't so impressive in Nanning where the host outperformed Japan by 0.1 point, which was seen as more luck than strength.
In the women's team, the United States was untouchable with China as distant runner-up.
In the blue-ribbon of the men's all-around, Japan's Kohei Uchimura, or "King Kohei", will very likely keep his reign after claiming a record fifth straight title in Nanning.
In the women's all-around, Biles is capable of ruling the event for a few more years.
It's a probable scenario two years later in Rio that China can manage only two to three gold medals from apparatus events, likely uneven bars, rings and beam, without a single title from the much valued team and all-around events.
China's gymnastics chief Luo Chaoyi blasted at women's athletes' mentality.
"If this squad goes to Rio, I can't say if I have confidence," Luo said of the women's team during the world championships. "They're not mature and strong enough."
Luo also criticized the men's team's strategy that focused on difficulty instead of execution.
"What we will do next is to upgrade execution," he said. "If they can finish the current routines in high quality, we can say we're a strong team."
Chinese gymnastics has reached the bottleneck in supply of talented gymnasts. International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Vice President Slava Corn has advised China to build amateur gymnastics clubs and introduce the sport to community.
|
