Not morning people - early draw could hurt team China
The Chinese women's gymnastics team will begin its preliminary Olympic competitions with the balance beam at 9 am, which gymnasts and coaches say could seriously impede their dreams of gold.
Teenage star He Kexin said she and her teammates generally do not like starting so early in the morning because they are "too tight to keep balanced", which can pose problems on the balance beam.
"This is a very bad draw, for sure," the uneven bars world record holder said. "I prefer uneven bars or floor exercise because it is a good way to warm up. But I will get used to it. You cannot always count on luck."
Women's team coach Lu Shanzhen expressed his unhappiness about the draw as well.
"It is the worst draw," Lu said after the draw. "We are in the first qualification and will start with balance beam. It will be a huge challenge for us."
Lu said there are many disadvantages to being the first team to compete in the morning, colder temperatures, shorter warm-up time and a smaller audience being among them.
"The draw was quite unlucky," said team leader Cheng Fei, winner of the vault at the 2007 World Championships. "We need to work harder."
The situation is better on the men's side, which drew an afternoon session with Canada, France, Japan and Russia.
"I am happy with the results," men's coach Huang Yubin said. "We will compete in the afternoon, not in the morning. And we are in the same qualification group with Japan and Russia, which are gymnastics powerhouses."
"But good luck still cannot lead us to the gold. We must perform our best."
China's top men's gymnast Yang Wei said Japan will pose the biggest challenge to the host in the men's team event.
"Japanese men will be a major obstacle in China's Olympic campaign," said Yang, a rings specialist.
"We are now confident we can win the gold medal after some intensive training. We will transform pressure into motivation."
(China Daily 05/23/2008 page23)
