Despite a string of falls from apparatus, the Chinese females
gymnasts made an narrow escape to defend their Universiade team
title in Bangkok on Thursday.
Led by three world champions Zhang Nan, Fan Ye and Zhou Zhuoru,
China was definitely the hot title favorite before the final as its
strong rivals Russia, Ukraine and Romania sent their second teams
to the 24th Universiade.
However, Zhang Nan, Fan Ye and Deng Ying all fell from the beam
following Zhou Zhuoru's fall from the uneven bar.
Thanks to the brilliant performances by the awakening world
champions on floor and vault, China regained the advantage and
edged Ukraine 0.7 points to nip the gold with 174.7 points.
Ukraine took the silver and Russia finished third.
China coach Sun Ping attributed the triumph to the high start
value points and admitted," We are not in good form today."
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2007)