Since the last quad, Women's Artistic Gymnastics has experienced huge changes. With a more diverse pool of international talents, the traditional "Big Four" of the sport, namely China, Romania, Russia and the United States of America seem less relevant today. We are honoured to have gymnastics experts of each of the "Big Four" members to share their views on what to expect of these countries in the coming quad, what the situation is like for these teams, and whether or not they can sustain their legacies.
For China, we are delighted to have Chinese gymnastics insider Bless the Blossoming Flowers of Chinese Gymnastics (祝福體操小花們) to discuss the prospects of the Chinese WAG team.
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Plagued by injuries and challenged by rising rivals, China needs more than bars and beam to stay on top (Photo @ Bless the Blossoming Flowers of Chinese Gymnastics) |
On Expectations of the Coming Worlds
Fan
Yilin’s bar routine and the other three girls’ difficulty level and
choreography on beam have significant advantages, and Wang Yan’s difficulty on
vault is also within the medal-hunting zone. However, injuries is the biggest
challenge for China now. Both Liu Tingting and Luo Huan are the main all-rounders
for Team China, yet due to lack of time to wind down from their active participation
in various events during the National Games as well as to recover from
injuries, it is a huge pity that they have to withdraw from doing all-around in
the World Championships.
On Team Dynamics
After the National
Games, many veterans have decided to retire. At the same time, a new batch of talented
new seniors will enter the National Team. There will also be adjustments in the
coaching staff, but these will only be conformed later. Generally, quite a few
new girls have already shown huge potential, such as Chen Yile, Du Siyu and Li
Qi, who may become the anchor of the Chinese WAG Team this quad. It is also
believed that some girls who are yet to show their full potential this year
will peak after a year or two. We will
also see more all-rounders than specialists in the Chinese team due to the team
competition format in the Tokyo Olympics.
On the Successors
Chen
Yile has excellent coordination, learns skills quickly and has relatively good
consistency, while Li Qi has good execution (especially on beam) and has that
Chinese flair in her performance, which may be favourable in terms of judging. If both can keep up
with their work, they will be able to shine in the world stage. However, though
Chen Yile and Li Qi have performed quite well this year, they will need more
experiences to further establish themselves. For instance, both girls fell on
beam earlier in the Japan Invitational due to inability to adjust to
environmental factors such as the audience’s cheering. These can only be
overcome by experience.
On the Coaching
Team China’s scores in
Rio has not been desirable mainly due to decreased quality of execution when
compared to 2008, and lack of understanding of current judging. China’s
decreased quality of execution is mainly seen in the increasing prevalence of crossed-legs
in twisting elements, as well as pirouetting angles and height of releases on
bars. To combat that, the team has already started to construct routines in a
way that prevent mistakes made from performing these elements to minimise
deductions. And as for enhancing understanding of current judging, the national team has modified its
strategies to enable more key gymnasts to participate in international meets
such as the World Cup series, and is considering inviting international judges
to judge internal competitions.
Lack of artistry is
another issue faced by China, which is resulted from lack of dance training and
the rather introverted personalities of the girls. To address this, the team
now regularly invites world class choreographers to give dance training and
choreograph routines. There are also dance competitions for female gymnasts
under 12 in national competitions to encourage gymnasts to become greater
dancers.
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Wang Yan, now the veteran of the team alongside Fan Yilin, are possible medal contenders on vault and bars respectively. (Photo @ Bless the Blossoming Flowers of Chinese Gymnastics) |
On Sustaining the Legacy
Team China in the Tokyo
quad has unlimited potential, but it is also full of challenges. China has limited
potential this quad because of the good number of new seniors or to-be-seniors
who are already possessing the ability to compete against veterans. Together
with the new changes in the National Team, I believe that China can come back
very strong. However, this journey is also full of challenges with the young
gymnasts being more prone to mistakes due to lack of experience, as well as the
rising of teams which are not traditionally known for their WAG team, such as Great
Britain and Japan, who, as the host of
the next Olympics, is rising at a pace that is comparable to China in the
2004-2008 quad. This demands more innovation in both technical excellence
and increasing talent pool from Team China.
It is, however, almost impossible for China to come back as
strong as in 2008. The preparations for winning team gold in 2008 was the most
extensive ever in the history of China WAG, and will not be repeated unless
China hosts another Olympics. Moreover, Team China’s technical level on
vault and floor is still behind the USA and even Japan, and when compared to
Russia’s bar work, Team China still has gaps to fill in terms of routine
construction. It is also seen that China’s talent tool is not as strong when
compared to western countries, thus if China wants to maintain competitiveness
in Tokyo, they must strength their weakest events and include more talented
gymnasts into the talent pool.
Interviewed by Valerie Theodora Ko