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The reaction to the dramatic conclusion of the men’s team all-around gymnastics final suggested a national crisis had hit China. Their spectacular collapse from what looked to be a certain gold to silver, allowing Japan to claim victory at the last moment, was met with sympathy and anger.
But the sound of fury is often louder. When Li Xiaoshuang, one of China’s greatest-ever gymnasts and a former two-time Olympic champion, launched into a stinging tirade against the current team in Paris, questioning a lack of leadership and suggesting its members were too old to win Olympic titles, it caused quite the stir.
Monday’s team final weighed heavily over the individual competition. The fight for gold was expected to be between Japan’s Daiko Hashimoto, the defending champion, and China’s Zhang Boheng, the top qualifier, continuing the duel between the two rival countries at the Paris Bercy Arena.
It ended in more heartbreak for Zhang, who for the second time in three days went into the high bar and the final routine of the night knowing the score that was required to win gold but falling narrowly short. It meant Oka Shinnosuke succeeded compatriot Hashimoto in winning individual gold for Japan, once again denying the heavyweights from China.
The 20-year-old Shinnosuke had finished second to top scorer Zhang in qualifying but was not expected to be involved in the battle for all-around gold. He beamed at the top of the podium while Zhang looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else as silver again hung around his neck.
Joe Fraser, in fifth, and Jake Jarman, in seventh, claimed impressive results for Great Britain and will have chances to contend for medals in the individual finals. Jarman set the highest scores on the floor and vault and could challenge for gold. Both were involved in the competition for the podium until the very end.
The compelling figure within the final, though, was Zhang, who carries his immense strength and power with an effortless sense of cool. He had been let down by his teammates as China threw gold away and looked like a man who had spent much of the previous 48 hours running the night back in his head, over and over.
Something looked off as Zhang stepped onto the floor for his opening routine, his body language heavy and his mind clouded. Within seconds, Zhang made his first mistake, stepping back after landing a flip. Then, as he accelerated across the mat and twisted through the air, Zhang lost his balance, falling onto his head awkwardly.
Zhang grimaced after it was over and the deducted score of 13.233 was an early blow. From needing to clear up the mistakes of his teammates, Zhang this time had to rectify his own.
Almost immediately, a further shock occurred. Hashimoto made another big error at these Olympics, losing his balance on a handstand on the pommel horse, falling forwards and dropping off the apparatus with heads already in his hands. A 12.966 was a setback he could not recover from and the reigning champion finished seventh. Up stepped Shinnosuke grinning and waving to the crowd. Unburdened by the absence of nerves and expectation on his Olympics debut. He stormed into the lead with a 14.500 on the pommel horse.
Suddenly, opportunity arose everywhere you looked. Ruoteng Xiao, the silver medallist from Tokyo, showed his strengths on rings, muscles straining. The Ukrainians Oleg Verniaiev and Illia Kovtun recorded huge scores on the parallel bars, shooting into first and second in the standings with two rotations left. Jarman, after taking an early lead on the floor, then put everything into his vault. Throwing himself into a high-difficulty three and a half forward twist, he claimed the highest score of the day on the apparatus. Fraser, though, remained consistent on all apparatus and leapfrogged Jarman with a stronger performance on the parallel bars.
In the background, Zhang gritted his teeth. He managed to edge himself further up the leaderboard after each rotation, first steadying on the rings before impressive showings on the parallel bars until he was suddenly in contention again. With Zhang and Xiao looming, Shinnosuke held his nerve. His smile had faded as the reality of his situation became clear and he found himself in position to win gold, but it returned as he landed safely from the high bar. He had done all he could and only Zhang could take gold away. Only Zhang had been here before, and was about to go through the same heartbreak.