Gymnastic is a unique sport in China as it is the only one with male athletes having better records than their female counterparts.
From Li Ning, Li Xiaoshuang to Yang Wei, Chinese male gymnasts have given the world surprises. Li Xiaoshuang became the first Chinese capturing an all-around Olympic gold in 1996. Yang was the only one in 81 years who successfully defended an all-around title in world championships.
In women's events, China built up its reputation in the 1984 Olympic Games when Ma Yanhong became the first Chinese claiming a gymnastic title. Uneven bars and balance beam have become specialties of China since then.
As Chinese female gymnasts conquered the world with their elegance and consistency, the team title has been beyond the reach of China for decades. The Athens Games became a Waterloo for China which ranked seventh in the team final.
The rise of vault queen Cheng Fei raised the development of Chinese women gymnastics to a new high. Spearheaded by Cheng, the Chinese girls took their first team title in the 2006 World Championships. Their continuous efforts were paid back by the Olympic team gold.
Lu Shanzhen, head coach of Chinese women gymnastic team, said after the final, "We have adopted lots of measures to improve team members' psychological readiness and competing capability after the Athens Olympics. Chinese women gymnasts have been repeatedly sent to take part in international tournaments in recent years. Today's result has proved that our plan in the past four years is right."
The precious team gold has unveiled Chinese women gymnasts' potential and may spur them to kick off a medal overhaul in the following days.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)