China Men’s Gymnastics Wins 6 Golds at Asian Championships
ZUNYI, China — The Chinese men’s gymnastics team captured six gold medals across the senior and junior divisions at the 13th Asian Gymnastics Championships and 19th Asian Youth Gymnastics Championships, held at the Zunyi Olympic Sports Center in Guizhou Province from June 15 to 21. The dominant performance, led by Paris Olympic all-around silver medalist Zhang Boheng, marks a strong statement of intent ahead of the Nagoya Asian Games and the Rotterdam World Gymnastics Championships.
A Historic Return to China
The championships returned to China for the first time in 14 years, since the 2012 edition in Putian, Fujian. Over 20 countries and regions participated, making it one of the largest gymnastics gatherings in Asia. According to China News Service, the event serves as a key warm-up and qualification competition for the upcoming Asian Games and World Championships.
Zhang Boheng Shines on Home Soil
Zhang Boheng, the 26-year-old star who claimed silver in the men’s all-around at the Paris 2024 Olympics, delivered a standout performance at his first Asian Championships. He won gold in the team event, the men’s all-around with a score of 85.298 points, and the parallel bars with 14.933 points. He also collected silver medals on the horizontal bar (15.000 points), still rings, and pommel horse, finishing with a remarkable haul of three golds and three silvers.
“Today my overall performance was very good,” Zhang told Xinhua News Agency. “My competitive state and complete routine were fully executed. For me personally, this is a great improvement.”
Earlier in the competition, Zhang credited the team’s composure for their success. “The best thing our team did in the team competition was that everyone kept their composure,” he said, as reported by CCTV Sports. “During the pommel horse event, everyone was quite nervous. After successfully completing the pommel horse, everyone gradually relaxed and found their competition rhythm.”
Senior Team and Individual Results
China claimed the senior men’s team gold medal on the opening day of competition, with Japan taking silver and Korea bronze. Yang Haonan added to China’s tally with a gold medal on the still rings and a silver in the all-around. In the apparatus finals, the Philippines’ Carlos Edriel Yulo won gold on floor exercise, Japan’s Tanigawa Wataru took vault gold, and Chinese Taipei’s Tang Jiahong claimed horizontal bar gold with an exceptional 15.500 points.
Youth Team Signals Strong Future
China’s junior team also impressed, winning the men’s team gold with 241.458 points — well ahead of Japan (silver) and India (bronze). The depth of China’s gymnastics pipeline was on full display, with multiple medalists emerging from the youth ranks.
Chen Junji, a Zunyi native competing on home soil, won gold on the still rings in the youth competition with a score of 13.566 points. “I performed beyond my usual level in this competition because having my family watching gave me more strength,” Chen said, according to China News Service.
Yang Lanbin earned bronze in the all-around, silver on parallel bars, and bronze on horizontal bar. He acknowledged room for growth, telling Xinhua: “The core issue is that my routine difficulty is too low. I will increase the difficulty of my movements, refine my posture, and fully integrate new difficulty into my routine training to achieve greater breakthroughs.”
Looking Ahead
The championships continue with women’s competitions scheduled from June 25 to 28 at the same venue. For the Chinese men’s team, the results in Zunyi signal strong positioning for the Nagoya Asian Games and the Rotterdam World Championships later this year. With Zhang Boheng emerging as a team leader and a deep youth pipeline developing, China’s men’s gymnastics program appears well-prepared for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
However, areas for improvement remain. China did not win gold in floor exercise, vault, or horizontal bar at the senior level, and Yang Lanbin’s acknowledgment of difficulty gaps in the youth ranks suggests continued work ahead. The performances of rivals from Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the Philippines also underscore the growing competitiveness of Asian gymnastics.