Cheng to inspire by example

The Chinese women's coach hopes a slumping veteran can inspire the young team by making a strong return to form.

Lu Shanzhen, head coach of China's female gymnastics team, said it will be difficult for veteran Cheng Fei (pictured) to come back from an injury-plagued career decline, but hopes her tryout will boost the unseasoned roster.

"It's extremely hard for her to recapture her full strength right now," Lu said at a recent media session. "We all hope she can make it (onto the final Olympic roster), but it's still too early (to make any judgment).

"Anyway, we hope her effort (to make it) will motivate the others in the team; pushing the younger generation to learn from her fighting spirit to work harder."

Cheng, the backbone of the all-around gold medal team at the Beijing Olympics, returned to the spotlight last month by claiming her first international title since 2008 in the vault at the 2012 World Cup Individual Apparatus in Zibo, Shandong province.

Still, Lu is not optimistic about the 23-year-old's chance of appearing in London.

"The title in Zibo was a good sign, but her current form remains far away from her peak. We all hope she can regain her momentum and confidence as she still has the ability to do high-difficulty routines. But the mental barrier seems huge for her."

Winning three world championship titles on the vault plus one on the floor, Cheng would provide versatility to the all-rounder-less Chinese contingent, and inspired youngsters like Yao Jinnan to work on their all-around skills.

"She's my favorite gymnast as she filled the void in our traditional weak event (vault)," said Yao, the individual all-around bronze medalist at the Japan Worlds last year.

Yao hailed Cheng as a warm-hearted "big sister", who is willing to share her experience with the team, and still believes Cheng could earn a London berth because "she's always practicing hard".

Cheng jumped to fame internationally at the 2005 Melbourne Worlds when she became the first woman to land one of the most difficult vaults ever attempted by a gymnast.

That powerful, elegant and multi-turn routine was officially recognized in the FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique) Code of Points as "The Cheng", which carries a top-level difficulty of 6.5 points.

As the oldest active female gymnast on the national squad, Cheng said she couldn't turn the clock back, but remains keen to make a third Olympic journey.

"Yes, I can't get back to my top form right now, but what matters most to me is to get back and fight for my Olympic dream," she said.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn