Chinese men's team proves it has the apparatus to win, as it ousts host Japan in artistic gymnastics final

China retained its men's artistic gymnastics team title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, overcoming host Japan to claim the gold medal for a third consecutive time.

China's Zhang Boheng, Zou Jingyuan, Lan Xingyu, Sun Wei and Tian Hao scored a cumulative 255.095 points to claim victory at Nagoya General Gymnasium, edging Japan by 1.069 points. Chinese Taipei took bronze with 239.896.

The victory gave Zhang his second gold medal of the Games, two days after he successfully defended his men's individual all-around title. The 26-year-old scored 85.065 points to finish ahead of Japan's reigning Olympic all-around champion Shinnosuke Oka and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto.

Wednesday's final, though, was the first major team showdown between China and Japan since the Paris Olympics, where Japan claimed the men's team title and China finished second.

"We were very disappointed after losing the team event at the Paris Olympics," Chinese coach Teng Haibin said. "To win the team title here, in Japan, is a huge boost to our confidence."

China entered the final with Zhang carrying an injury, and Zou dealing with a bicep problem. Despite those concerns, Zhang competed on all six apparatus, having insisted on taking part after the coaching staff had considered resting him for one event.

Teng said Zhang's decision reflected his determination to help the team, while praising the gymnast for completing the demanding program despite his injury.

Sun Wei, another experienced member of the team, also made an important contribution. After competing on all six apparatus in qualifying, he performed on four in the final and took on several events at the start of the team's rotation.

Teng said Sun had consistently demonstrated his willingness to compete wherever the team needed him.