NANJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Zhu Xueying helped China retain the women's trampoline team title at the 2026 World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships on Saturday, while Belarus denied the host nation a double triumph by winning the men's event.
China entered the women's final ranked second after qualifying, behind Belarus.
World championships debutant Zhang Yu, 18, opened for China, earning eight ranking points, while Russia's Anzhela Bladtseva scored 58.280 to collect the maximum 10 points.
Belarusian veteran Iana Lebedeva made an error during her routine, although teammates Katsiaryna Yarshova and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya kept their side in contention.
Zhu then helped China regain the lead before Zhang Xinxin, a former world champion in synchronized trampoline, edged Bardzilouskaya by just 0.020 points in the final round to secure the title.
"I was so happy to retain this gold for our team at home," said an emotional Zhu. "My teammates cheered me on, and that meant a lot to me."
Zhu also advanced to Sunday's women's individual final after topping the second round of qualifying, which serves as the semifinal.
The 28-year-old recovered from mistakes in the opening qualifying round to deliver a controlled performance, with strong execution and horizontal displacement scores helping her finish first.
"I tried too hard in my Q1, which caused a mistake, so I decided to tune it down a little today," said Zhu, whose feet remained bandaged after the semifinal. "Luckily it worked."
In the men's team final, reigning world champion Wang Zisai held off a challenge from Belarusian Olympic champion Ivan Litvinovich in the second round.
However, China's hopes of retaining the title suffered a decisive setback when two-time world champion Yan Langyu fell outside the trampoline bed on landing in the final round.
Belarus went on to claim gold, finishing two ranking points ahead of China, while Russia took bronze.
"I didn't have enough space to adjust myself in the end," Yan said, expressing disappointment over the mistake.
Earlier, Wang had opted for a less demanding routine in the individual semifinal, performing an exercise with a difficulty score of 19.500 rather than his more challenging 21.900-point routine.
The decision paid off as Wang finished second to secure his place in Sunday's final.
Litvinovich also chose to conserve energy ahead of the final but still topped the standings with strong execution and overall scores. ■
