Yang,He takes individual gymnastic all-around golds

(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-05 10:08

World champion Yang Wei triumphed in four of six events to take the Asian Games men's gymnastics individual all-around championship on Monday.

Yang Wei.

And He Ning and Zhou Zhuoru finished first and second in the women's competition to continue China's resurgence in a sport it has traditionally dominated in Asia.

Yang took gold on the pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars for a score of 95.500, while Hisashi Mizutori of Japan won the floor exercise and high bar to finish second with 93.400. Teammate Hiroyuki Tomita was third with 93.250.

"I knew I'd won when I landed on the mat after the high bar," Yang said. "I feel great but I'm really, really tired."

The gap between the three had remained close into the fourth rotation, when Tomita suffered a poor landing on vault, earning a score of just 15.450 to Yang's 16.600. Yang then widened his lead after the parallel bars, and though his Japanese rivals edged back on the high bar, Yang's solid 15.400 in the event was enough to ensure victory.

Yang had already pushed Tomita aside as world champion in Denmark two months ago, and the former champion's third place showing came as a shock even to his teammate.

"I felt satisfied with my performance, but I never thought I would finish ahead of Tomita," Mizutori said.

He Ning.(R)

Yang's next target is Tuesday and Wednesday's individual apparatus competition, where he is aiming for at least two golds. Beyond that, Yang is helping lead a Chinese revival in gymnastics that they hope will bear even greater fruit at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"This win has really boosted my confidence for the future," Yang said.

He Ning had a rough start on vault, scoring just 13.750, but recovered on uneven bars, then dominated on the two final events of balance beam and floor exercise.

"After the start I just got more and more stable and more and more confident. I'm really happy for the win and really hope I can win more golds," said the 16-year-old.

He Ning finished with a total of 59.450, followed by Zhou with 59.050 and North Korea's Hong Su Jong with 57.800.

Coming on top of team all-around golds on Sunday, China's wins help seal a comeback that got under way with China winning eight out of 14 titles at the world championships in Denmark in October.

Barely two years ago, China had suffered through an embarrassing Olympics in Athens, when the men finished fifth and the women seventh.

China has won every men's Asian Games team gold since 1974.