7 October, 2017

Shirai defends floor title as Asians win four medals

Montreal (Canada): After the dust had settled down following the two most high-profile events – all-around finals, the talented Asian gymnasts won two gold and one bronze medals out of the five events at the 47th FIG Artistic World Championships here on Saturday.
Men’s all-round champion Xiao Ruoteng led the medal hunt, picking up a bronze in the pommel horse with 15.066 points behind Great Britain’s Olympic champion Max Whitlock (15.441) and Russia’s David Belyavskiy (15.100).
China’s Weng Hao finished sixth in the day’s third event.
But the greatest applause was reserved for Japan’s Kenzo Shirai in the floor exercise at the iconic venue.
He was a picture of perfection and confidence as he performed a smooth landing following a couple of double twists in the air.
Shirai’s impressive effort, which earned him 15.633 points, was way ahead of the Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat (14.533) and Yul Moldauer of the US (14.500).
Shirai won a bronze in the all-around event on Thursday, and his performance will helped his country overcome the disappointment of Kohei Uchimura’s early exit from the tournament following an injury.
Liu Yang, who won a bronze in the men’s rings in the 2015 edition, once again finished third (15.266) behind Greece’s reigning champion Eleftherios Petrounias (15.433), who successfully defended the crown, and Russia’s Denis Abliazin (15.333).
China’s Fan Yi Lin was the pick of the lot in the women’s uneven bars. She defended her tittle in style with 15.166 points, but not before staving off a stiff challenge from Russia’s Elena Eremina (15.100) while Belgium’s Moma Derwael claimed bronze (15.033).