Chinese women's team deliver mixed performances at Jakarta World Gymnastics Championships

JAKARTA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese women's team experienced both good and difficult moments in the final qualification session of the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday.

The qualification rounds ran from Oct. 19 to 21. In the last subdivision, the Chinese team, composed of Zhou Yaqin, Zhang Qingying, Yang Fanyuwei and Deng Yalan, began their competition on the balance beam.

Zhou, the silver medalist on balance beam at the Paris Olympic Games, was the first to perform but fell twice and did not advance to the final.

Zhang, competing in all four events, stayed calm and steady to lead the balance beam qualification with the highest difficulty and total score. However, she did not make the floor exercise final after a routine with lower difficulty and a step out of bounds.

In the vault, Deng completed two clean attempts and earned a 0.2-point bonus for solid landings, ranking second to qualify for the final.

Yang qualified for the uneven bars final in second place, while Zhang placed fourth overall to secure a spot in the all-around final.

"This is my second world championships, and I feel more relaxed than last time. I hope to perform better in the finals," Zhang said.

Both Yang and Deng are competing at the world championships for the first time. Deng said she felt less nervous than expected and hoped her confidence could encourage the whole team. Yang made a small mistake at the start of her uneven bars routine and did not show her signature skill. She noted that she looked forward to performing her highest-difficulty routine in the final alongside Olympic champion Kaylia Nemour of Algeria.

The men's all-around final will be held on Wednesday, featuring Chinese gymnasts Zhang Boheng and Shi Cong. ■