Asian Games: Zou Kai Ends Chinese Men's Gymnastics Gold Drought
Zou Kai, China's most decorated Olympian, looked glum as he waited for his score to be announced and afterwards said he felt he was well off the magificent standard he set at the 2012 Olympics.
Chinese Olympic star Zou Kai ended his country's wait for a men's gymnastics gold at the Incheon Asian Games on Wednesday with a world class floor routine peformance. (Day 5 Blog | Medal Tally)
China, the traditional powerhouse in Asian gymnastics, have made a poor start in the men's division, slipping to third in the team competition and not even making the podium in the individual all-round event.
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Zou, 26, went some way to making amends on the floor, surviving a couple of slight early stumbles to score 15.533 with the most difficult routine attempted on the night.
There was gold for North Korea in the women's vault as Hong Un-Jong turned in a dazzling pair of runs to beat Uzbek veteran Oksana Chusovitina into second in a rerun of the 2008 Olympic final. (Japan Fined for Celebrating After Sprint Gold)
On a busy night at the Namdong Gymnasium -- close to capacity after a disappointing turnout in the earlier rounds -- Japan's Masayoshi Yamamoto took gold on the pommel horse, ahead of Uzbek teenager Abdulla Azimov.
Zou, China's most decorated Olympian, looked glum as he waited for his score to be announced and afterwards said he felt he was well off the magificent standard he set at the 2012 Olympics.
"I'm not 100 percent satisfied with my performance on the floor," he said. (Read: Xiang Yanmei Sees off North Korean to Take China Top)
"I'm not in the best condition compared with when I was competing in London."
Teammate Huang Yuguo, who only managed fourth in the individual all-round, made it a Chinese one-two with a score of 15.300.
Japan's Yuya Kamoto, fresh from his gold medal in Tuesday's all-round, turned in another tight routine to take bronze on 14.933. (Related: Asian Games Hit by Hijab Row as Qatar Women Withdraw From Basketball)
South Korean Shin Dong-Hyen delighted the crowd with a superbly performed routine -- the only one to score 9.0 for execution -- to raise hopes of a home medal. But Kamato pipped him with the last routine of the night.