China' top male gymnast Yang Wei's next mission is
crystal clear after his triple-gold winning sojourn at the Aarhus World
Championships - an individual all-round title at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
China's Yang Wei celebrates on the
podium his gold medal won at the parallel bars during the apparatus finals
at the 39th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark,
October 21, 2006. [Reuters] |
The talented but somewhat unfortunate two-time world individual all-round
runner-up, finally showed his dominance at the worlds in Denmark by pocketing
three gold medals on men's team, individual all-round and parallel bars.
The performance was an unexpected surprise for the 26-year-old veteran, who
was only on the brink of retirement two years ago. This week's win has boosted
his confidence in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics.
"The success over the past few days is like a fairytale for me, it is a dream
come true, but I have a bigger dream in my heart - to win the all-round gold
medal at the Beijing Games," said Yang. "That's the ultimate goal of my life, I
see the World Championships as a stimulant for it.
"It's not the time for the last celebration, this is a new beginning for
myself and also the whole team," he added
Despite being one of the world's elite all-round gymnasts, Yang Wei
considered retirement in 2004 after failing to win an individual title at major
tournaments in his career.
He finished runner-up twice in the all-round competition before the Aarhus
meet, once at worlds in 2003 and the other at the Athens Olympics two years ago.
But the gymnast from Xiantao City of Hubei Province, a place dubbed "the city
of gymnastics" because of its extraordinary gymnastic talent pool, sounded his
comeback in a dramatic fashion by dominating the stage in Aarhus.
"I didn't know what I was going to do if I retired after the Athens Games,"
he said. "I am so fortunate that I didn't give up. I think it is my family who
help me stay."
Yang said he has learnt how to find a winning way from the Aarhus success.
"This world championship helped me realize that the last moment is the most
important. Your attitude is also important. You should be calm."
Yang Yun, Yang Wei's girlfriend and former captain of the women's national
team, believed the returning champion had every chance to win the gold in
Beijing.
"I was overwhelmed watching him perform so great at the worlds," she said.
"He is an incredible athlete and also a great man with great determination and
motivation. I am confident that he is able to stand on the top podium at Beijing
Olympics."
The national team laid a fantastic groundwork for the Beijing Games in
Denmark by wrapping up a staggering eight gold medals. That's more than half the
14 golds awarded over nine-day event - a reclaim of dominance for the upcoming
host of the Olympics.
Alongside the men's squad headed by Yang Wei, women's team upstaged
favourites the United States to storm to their first women's team title in
history with Cheng Fei seizing another three golds.
"The team has begun to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and we will
learn lessons from this competition and try to be the best in 2008," said Yang
Wei. "We showed our power to the world, the achievement is definitely
undisputed."
Plagued with injuries, China fielded a men's team made up mostly of
teenagers, six of whom have not yet competed internationally. But their
performances show signs of a bright future.
"Some young players put on amazing performances in their first major
competitions. It is a good chance to gain experience and improve skills," Huang
Yubin, head coach of the national team.
The biggest surprise came from rookie Chen Yibing. The 22-year-old from
Tianjin helped elevate the men's team out of the dismal caused by a
disappointing fifth finish at the 2004 Athens Games. Chen then seized his second
gold on the highly-competitive competition on rings.
"I am now aiming at the Beijing Olympics and I hope to play even better in
2008," said Chen
Women's young gymnasts Pang Panpan, Li Ya, He Ning and Zhou Zhuoru are also
in the spotlight while making their championships debut.
Improvements needed
Despite the encouraging results, Huang voices concern.
"Actually, some of the best athlete didn't come, including Paul Hamm and his
brother Morgan of the United States. Besides, the Olympics and the World
Championships are different," he said.
China also proves to be a quick adapter to the new system of marking came
under the microscope during event at Aarhus. The maximum 10 score has been
scrapped and replaced by a new accumulative points system, which credits the
routine's content, difficulty and execution.
"We get used to the new scoring system a bit earlier than other countries but
they are also improving very fast and try to understand the new system."
Huang asked his players to keep composure and make extra efforts to improve.
"We made some mistakes during the competition," he said. "We used very
difficult moves this time in Denmark to win a higher starting points from
referees, but that requires higher techniques and very challenging. We need to
polish our skills after the event and work more on keeping stability."
(China Daily 10/27/2006 page15)
