China’s Zou wins men’s parallel bars at World Gymnastics Championship

Chinese gymnast Zou Jingyuan claimed the parallel bars crown at the world championships on Sunday.

Team China looked to continue their strong showing at the Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal, as Zou Jingyuan entered the men's final for the parallel bars where his main challenger was Olympic champion Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine.

Zou, one of the two Chinese who reached the final along with Lin Chaopan, is hailed as a future star for China in gymnastics and comes off a win in the parallel bars at the National Games last month. Facing stiffer opposition in Montreal, his coach decided to increase the difficulty of his routine from 6.600 to 6.800.

China's Zou Jingyuan performs on the parallel bars during the individual apparatus finals of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Zou produced a strong effort with only a slight wobble on his dismount. He scored 9.100 points for a total of 15.900 to win his first gold at the World Gymnastic Championship.

Verniaiev's degree of difficulty degree was 0.1 lower than Zou's and that made the difference as the Ukrainian received 9.133 as his highest score, but his total was 15.833 points. The other Chinese gymnast, Lin, finished fifth.

China's six medals gave it the most medals in the tournament. Japan ranked second with three golds and one bronze. Russia and the US gained the third and fourth place. Germany tied with Great Britain for fifth place.

(REUTERS)