Superstar Cheng Fei likely will sit out this weekend’s Chinese National Gymnastics Championships
Cheng, a five-time world gymnastics champion and 2008 Olympic gold medalist, has been suffering from a recurring Achilles’ tendon injury. During training for the recent University Games in Belgrade, Cheng aggravated an injury in her right knee, Xinhua reported.
In Belgrade, Cheng finished second on vault to Olympic champion Hong Un Jong (North Korea), who performs Cheng’s own signature vault.
Cheng has decided to stop competing her eponymous vault (Yurchenko half-on, layout Rudi) until her leg injuries heal, she said.
“To recover well from the knee injury as soon as possible, I have now temporarily abandoned the ‘Cheng Fei vault,'” said Cheng, 21.
Management from Hubei, Cheng’s home province, said her injury should not affect this fall’s big events, the 11th National Games in September and the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships in October.
The national championships begin Friday in Xiantao, where 175 gymnasts from 24 teams will compete for honors.
Even without Cheng, the roster for Xiantao includes eight Olympic champions: Huang Xu, Teng Haibin, Zou Kai, Deng Linlin, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan and Yang Yilin.
He, the 2008 Olympic champion on uneven bars, helped the Chinese women win the team title Saturday at the Japan Cup in Tokyo. She is practicing a new routine with a 7.4 Difficulty score.
