Chinese Women Lead Team, All-Around at Asian Championships

Wei Xiaoyuan

The first day of this year’s Asian Championships – the first continental meet for Asia held in three years after the cancellation 2020 and 2021 editions due to the COVID-19 pandemic – wrapped up this evening in Doha, Qatar, where China took a decisive lead in the women’s team competition.

This year, the meet serves as a qualifier to world championships, with four teams and eight all-arounders (two per country) earning berths on the women’s side, while five teams and six all-arounders will qualify on the men’s side. Today’s competition included vault and uneven bars for the women, while the men contested floor, pommel horse, and rings, and the meet will conclude tomorrow with the remaining apparatuses to determine the all-around and team rankings, as well as acting as qualifiers for event finals.

At the halfway point, China leads the women’s team competition with an 83.433 total, ahead of South Korea with 80.167, Japan with 79.833, Taiwan with 75.033, Kazakhstan with 70.700, Uzbekistan with 70.267, India with 64.800, Hong Kong with 60.000, and Thailand with 37.500, and while South Korea and Japan could swap positions following beam and floor, I think China has pretty much locked down the gold. The top four teams with worlds in sight are also pretty much expected, and I don’t see them changing based on tomorrow’s results.

China’s success today is largely thanks to bars, where the women outscored the other programs by nearly 3.5 points. Both China and Japan were pretty evenly matched on vault, where South Korea had an early lead of a tenth over both programs, but that second rotation put China in a dominant position, thanks especially to a 15.0 from 2021 world champion Wei Xiaoyuan and a 14.5 from Olympic and world medalist Tang Xijing.

The team also saw a 14.0 from Wu Ran in her international debut and a 13.8 from Olympian Zhang Jin, while Zhang led the team on vault with a 13.7, ahead of newcomer Sun Xinyi with a 13.2 (she performed a Yurchenko full but is reportedly training a double), Tang with a 13.033, and Wei with a 13.0. The team opted to go with Sun for her vault and floor prowess over 2021 world medalist Luo Rui for her bars and beam, despite Luo being generally consistent on floor and outscoring Sun at the selection meet on that event by about a tenth. But I think with vault kind of a problem for China right now, it was important to give Sun some experience in a lower-pressure meet, and I’m excited to see how she fares tomorrow.

In addition to leading the field on bars, Wei also currently leads the all-around with a 28.000 two-event score, ahead of teammates Tang with a 27.533, and Zhang with a 27.500 to take the top three spots going into day two.

It was great seeing the Koreans perform so efficiently on both vault and floor, bolstered by a 14.033 on vault from 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Yeo Seojeong, who currently leads that field with a 13.950 average (the third-highest average of the year so far!), and by a 14.3 on bars from 2020 Olympian Lee Yunseo, who is third on that event going into the final.

Lee is also currently fourth in the all-around with a 27.133, ahead of Yeo in sixth with a 26.533, while Shin Solyi is seventh with a 26.500 (she will also compete in the bars final, having earned a 13.233 there today), and Lee Dayeong is 13th with a 24.767.

The Japanese women would’ve held the second spot had they gone all-out on vault, but instead, they played it safe, with both Yamada Chiharu and Kasahara Arisa competing Yurchenko fulls instead of the doubles they showed at the NHK Trophy last month. They did have a double from Miyata Shoko, who is ranked second on vault going into the final, and they performed well enough on bars – led by a 13.9 from Yamada – to stay on pace with Korea, and I think they should have the edge on beam and floor tomorrow based on difficulty, but they’re also a relatively inexperienced squad, so it could go either way.

Yamada is the team’s top all-arounder at the moment, with a 26.833 for fourth place, ahead of Miyata with a 26.500 in eighth, and Kasahara with a 26.467 in ninth, with Kasahara also securing a spot in the bars final with a 13.467 on the event. The team also saw Watanabe Hazuki competing on vault, where she earned a 12.967, and Matsuda Touwa on bars, earning an 11.9.

Veteran Mai Liu Hsiang-Han led Taiwan’s fourth-place finish today, currently sitting 12th in the all-around with a 25.100 after scoring a 12.733 on bars, which should get her the last spot in the final. Behind her is Lai Pin-Ju in 13th with a 24.767 (she’s also seventh going into the vault final with a 12.35 average), 2020 Olympian Ting Hua-Tien in 15th with a 24.700 (she earned a spot in the bars final with a 12.933 today, and should be one of the top beam performers tomorrow), and Huang Tzu-Hsing in 17th with a 23.967.

In the all-around race, 2020 Olympian Milka Gehani of Sri Lanka is the top to watch at the moment, currently sitting in 10th with a 25.633. She also narrowly missed the bars final, tying Mai Liu’s 12.733 but losing on an execution tie break, but still, her result is massive both for her individually and for her country, and I don’t foresee her having any issues getting to worlds as an individual.

Behind her, Nadine Joy Nathan of Singapore is 11th with a 25.233, Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia is 16th with a 24.167, Aida Bauyrzhanova of Kazakhstan is 18th with a 23.800, Korkem Yerbossynkyzy of Kazakhstan is 19th with a 23.700, Dildora Aripova of Uzbekistan is 20th with a 23.433, Ominakhon Khalilova of Uzbekistan is 21st with a 23.333, and Ayazhan Shamshitdinova of Kazakhstan is 22nd.

India’s top all-arounder so far is Pranati Das in 24th with a 21.800, Hong Kong’s is Angel Wong Hiu Ying in 29th with a 20.667, and Thailand’s is Sasiwimon Mueangphuan in 30th with a 20.267.

Some of these gymnasts, including Bauyrzhanova and Aripova, have already mathematically secured apparatus spots at worlds through their performances at the world cups, but since apparatus qualifiers can only compete on the events on which they qualified, they’re hoping to instead make it as all-arounders here. Then there’s Oksana Chusovitina – currently ranked third on vault here with a 12.784 average – who has already locked down a world cup spot on vault, but with zero desire to compete in the all-around, the Asian Championships aren’t part of her worlds journey.

The complete rankings at the halfway point, as well as the apparatus rankings for vault and bars, are below. The competition resumes tomorrow, though unfortunately there aren’t any live streams or scores.

All-Around Standings

1. Wei Xiaoyuan CHN 28.000
2. Tang Xijing CHN 27.533
3. Zhang Jin CHN 27.500
4. Lee Yunseo KOR 27.133
5. Yamada Chiharu JPN 26.833
6. Yeo Seojeong KOR 26.533
7. Shin Solyi KOR 26.500
8. Miyata Shoko JPN 26.500
9. Kasahara Arisa JPN 26.467
10. Milka Gehani SRI 25.633
11. Nadine Joy Nathan SGP 25.233
12. Mai Liu Hsiang-Han TWN 25.100
13. Lai Pin-Ju TWN 24.767
– Lee Dayeong KOR 24.767
15. Ting Hua-Tien TWN 24.700
16. Rifda Irfanaluthfi INA 24.167
17. Huang Tzu-Hsing TWN 23.967
18. Aida Bauyrzhanova KAZ 23.800
19. Korkem Yerbossynkyzy KAZ 23.700
20. Dildora Aripova UZB 23.433
21. Ominakhon Khalilova UZB 23.333
22. Ayazhan Shamshitdinova KAZ 22.267
23. Gulnaz Jumabekova UZB 21.900
24. Pranati Das IND 21.800
25. Ameera Hariadi INA 21.600
26. Ruthuja Nataraj IND 21.300
27. Pranati Nayak IND 21.233
28. Papiya Das IND 20.733
29. Angel Wong Hiu Ying HKG 20.667
30. Sasiwimon Mueangphuan THA 20.267
31. Vanessa Wong HKG 20.100
32. Tsang Ho Sum HKG 19.233
33. Senam Rakphu THA 17.233

Team Standings

1. China 83.433
2. South Korea 80.167
3. Japan 79.833
4. Taiwan 75.033
5. Kazakhstan 70.700
6. Uzbekistan 70.267
7. India 64.800
8. Hong Kong 60.000
9. Thailand 37.500

Vault Qualification Standings

1. Yeo Seojeong KOR 13.950 Q
2. Miyata Shoko JPN 13.584 Q
3. Oksana Chusovitina UZB 12.784 Q
4. Darya Yassinskaya KAZ 12.550 Q
5. Sasiwimon Mueangphuan THA 12.400 Q
6. Pranati Nayak IND 12.367 Q
7. Lai Pin-Ju TWN 12.350 Q
8. Korkem Yerbossynkyzy KAZ 12.167 Q
9. Nadine Joy Nathan SGP 12.033 R1
10. Huang Tzu-Hsing TWN 11.950 R2
11. Gulnaz Jumabekova UZB 11.784 R3
12. Senam Rakphu THA 11.384

Bars Qualification Standings

1. Wei Xiaoyuan CHN 15.000 Q
2. Tang Xijing CHN 14.500 Q
3. Lee Yunseo KOR 14.300 Q
4. Wu Ran CHN 14.000
5. Yamada Chiharu JPN 13.900 Q
6. Zhang Jin CHN 13.800
7. Kasahara Arisa JPN 13.467 Q
8. Shin Solyi KOR 13.233 Q
9. Ting Hua-Tien TWN 12.933 Q
10. Mai Liu Hsiang-Han TWN 12.733 Q
11. Milka Gehani SRI 12.733 R1
12. Miyata Shoko JPN 12.600
13. Yeo Seojeong KOR 12.500
14. Rifda Irfanaluthfi INA 12.400 R2
15. Nadine Joy Nathan SGP 12.400 R3
16. Lai Pin-Ju TWN 11.967
17. Lee Dayeong KOR 11.967
18. Matsuda Touwa JPN 11.900
19. Huang Tzu-Hsing TWN 11.733
20. Ominakhon Khalilova UZB 11.567
21. Korkem Yerbossynkyzy KAZ 11.300
22. Aida Bauyrzhanova KAZ 11.233
23. Dildora Aripova UZB 11.067
24. Ayazhan Shamshitdinova KAZ 10.467
25. Gulnaz Jumabekova UZB 10.400
26. Angel Wong Hiu Ying HKG 10.333
27. Alexandra Shametko KAZ 10.100
28. Pranati Das IND 9.767
29. Ameera Hariadi INA 9.667
30. Lobar Amrillaeva UZB 9.633
31. Papiya Das IND 8.900
32. Ruthuja Nataraj IND 8.433
33. Pranati Nayak IND 8.433
34. Vanessa Wong HKG 8.267
35. Tsang Ho Sum HKG 8.200
36. Sasiwimon Mueangphuan THA 7.767
37. Senam Rakphu THA 6.233

Article by Lauren Hopkins

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By: Lauren
Title: Chinese Women Lead Team, All-Around at Asian Championships
Sourced From: thegymter.net/2022/06/15/chinese-women-lead-team-all-around-at-asian-championships/
Published Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2022 23:37:59 +0000