China wrap up 5 gymnastics gold

China's he kexin performs a routine in the women's uneven bars final during artistic gymnastics at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Nov 16, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUANGZHOU - Teng Haibin grabbed his third Asian Games gold on men's pommel horse as China swept Tuesday's five gymnastics golds including a shared one.

Teng gained 15.375 points to collect one more title after winning team and all-around. His teammate Yan Mingyong was a far second in 14.725, edging bronze medallist Huang Che-kuei of Chinese Taipei by 0.025.

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China also won on women's vault and uneven bars, by Huang Qiushuang and multiple world champion He Kexin respectively.

Chen Yibing, China's men's captain, contributed a rings gold and Asiad rookie Zhang Chenglong shared men's floor title with Kim Soo Myun of South Korea.

Zhang gained 15.400 points to the ovation of home spectators. Although Kim's execution was secondary to the 20-year-old, he finished with the same result thanks to a higher D-score of 6.6.

The bronze medal went to Ashish Kumar of India, who grabbed 14.925 to have his country's first-ever gymnastics medal in the Asiad history.

"I'm very happy that this medal comes with me. I think it will encourage the new generation of gymnasts to do better in the future."

Earlier this year, Kumar was third on floor and second on vault at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, which were also the best results of Indian gymnastics.

Kim, the only gymnast so far who managed to break China's domination, was excited to have his team's first title in Guangzhou.

"I have been dreaming of the gold, like a hundred times a day." he said.

"In Doha four years ago, I also had a shared gold(on pommel horse). I hoped that this time I could do better to win alone. But we two performed very well and I'm pleased with the result."

Teng, 2004 Olympic champion, is looking to harvest even more medals on Wednesday's parallel bars and high bar finals.

"I still had some flaws tonight because I felt tired. I hope tomorrow I can present my best," he said.

"Last time I was competing in Asiad was back in 2002. I also won pommel horse. So I'm very pleased to make it again eight years later."

The veteran, 25, just returned to light at the last month's world championship in Rotterdam after a six-year absence from top international events.

Playing a key role in China gymnastics fiasco in the 2004 Athens Olympics, he was heavily criticized and had since not been selected for any major international events until the worlds.

He also had a faulty 11th-place performance in all-around in Rotterdam. While doubts surfaced that the Athens ghost was still haunting him, he proved himself on home turf.

Also shining was his compatriot He Kexin, who won uneven bars to complete her super "Grand Slam" of winning all major tournaments home and abroad.

The Chinese "uneven bars princess" showed her acrobatic signature flip again for a highest-of-the-night 16.425. Her compatriot Huang Qiushuang clinched a silver medal in 15.825 and Japanese Koko Tsurumi was third in 15.300.

He already had titles of Olympics, world championships and world cup finals under her belt. The national champion now achieves an unprecedented "grand slam" in one event for Chinese women gymnasts.

A fall off the bar in Rotterdam snapped her stunning winning streak of 15 in all tournaments but she defended her dignity with flawlessly executing the same routine of a 7.4 D-score in the Asiad, where easier maneuvers would be enough to ensure her gold.

"I want to prove myself. I chose the same highest difficulty because I know I can rise where I fall," she said.

Tuesday's finals were full of blunders with Ryotaka Deguchi, youngest of the Japanese team, starting the string.

He stumbled in the night's first exercise of floor. While he was a pre-match medal-contender on pommel horse, an apparent break in the routine cost him a podium finish.

Uzbekistan's veteran Anton Fokin and his compatriot Daulet Narmetov both fell off the apparatus. Kim Ji Hoon of South Korea followed in the steps.

If not slipping in dismount, South Korea's Jo Hyun Joo could have snatched a vault medal. But the fall left her in fourth behind Japanese Momoko Ozawa. Rie Tanaka of Japan was second to Huang.

Chen led a China's one-two on rings with 16.075 points, the other score over 16 of the night. Yan Mingyong gained a silver in 15.900, beating Chen Chih Yu of Chinese Taipei by 0.275.