Chinese gymnastics trapped in doubts and disputes
17/10/2005 13:53
Chinese gymnastics, eager to stage a comeback after Athens' waterloo, is
fighting with suspicions and disputes heaped in the National Games in
Nanjing.
Related Story:
Chinese mini Olympics overshadowed by scandals
The indoors whispers about match-fixing surfaced with a
strong complaint filed by the Tianjin team on Saturday over the rings judging.
In that apparatus final, the gold medal went to home veteran Huang Xu of
Jiangsu.
That arose a wide suspicion on the competition fairness. Double
Olympic champion Li Xiaopeng was booed Sunday evening by spectators after he won
parallel bars with 9.800 points despite of obvious faults in the routine.
"I
had no comment on the judging, which is not controlled by me. Every one should
respect judges' decision, so do I," said the Olympic hero at the after-match
press conference.
But all the chaos ended in peace as other medallists
remained silent.
On the previous night, a 0.038-point disadvantage separated
Tianjin's Dong Zhen from his third national title in a row.
Tianjin team
questioned the deduction scoring but the arbitration committee rejected the
appeal after reviewing the video, citing two major mistakes in Dong's
maneuver.
"We have no other choice but to accept the final ruling but we
insist that Dong is the champion," Tianjin's press officer Meng Xiandong told
Xinhua.
Tianjin gymnastics team leader Yao Hongcheng, however, bitterly
attack the verdict.
"I am unsatisfied with the final decision. Why did they
only pick the flaws of Dong Zhen but not mention Huang's," said Yao
Hongchen.
"What if Huang is not a home gymnast?"
Dong also hinted that he
was wrongly treated immediately after the rings results appeared on the screen,
saying he was sorry to end his career in this way.
"I have nothing to say but
you all have seen my quality and difficulty of motions and my landing. I think I
did it perfect."
The 28-year-old scored 9.825 points before Huang took field
as the last competitor in the order. With the same 10-points starting value, the
two presented super strength and solid landing and both acquired 0.5 extra point
according to the tournament's special regulation.
But Huang ended in 9.863 to
overturn Dong's domination.
The press conference that followed went into kind
of chaos, when some reporters challenged the rings results and threw doubt on
the fairness of the competition.
Last year, the Athens' fiasco sparked media
question and outpouring of public suspicion over the selection of Olympic
members.
Some critics tipped possible scandals since there was no open
qualifying and the team lineup was decided behind doors.
Xinhua news
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