Liu Yang of China competes during the men's rings final at the 15th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, Qatar, March 3, 2023. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)
China's Liu Yang dominated the men's rings at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha.
Doha, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China's gymnast Liu Yang returned from injuries to grab the gold medal in the men's rings at the International Gymnastics Federation's World Cup here on Friday.
After qualifying for the final on top, Liu easily pocketed the gold with a score of 15.366 points with both the highest execution and difficulty points.
Opening with a pair of excellent inverted crosses and routinely showing several difficult moves, Liu repeated his trademark neck-rolling while performing an iron cross strength hold, like he did at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Gold medalist Liu Yang (C), silver medalist Adem Asil (L) of Türkiye and bronze medalist Nikita Simonov of Azerbaijian pose for pictures during the awarding ceremony after the men's rings final at the 15th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, Qatar, March 3, 2023. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)
The Tokyo Olympic champion suffered injuries last year and had never stood on an international pitch after the Tokyo Olympics. After clinching the gold as expected, he wrote on social media: "So excited to hear the national anthem. I'm back!"
This is also the first gold medal of China in Doha as Qiu Qiyuan placed sixth in uneven bars, Chen Zhilong and Yin Dehang finished eighth in floor exercise and pommel horse respectively on the same day.
