Teen Tang delivers silver lining

STUTTGART, Germany - Sixteen-year-old Tang Xijing produced a sensational performance to become China's first all-around medalist in eight years at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart on Thursday.

Making her debut at the worlds, Tang was not even meant to be on the start list but was drafted in to replace Liu Tingting after the latter's mistakes had cost China a medal in Tuesday's team final.

And coach Qiao Liang's call was vindicated in stunning style as Tang registered the highest score ever by a female Chinese - 56.899 points - to finish second behind American superstar Simone Biles (58.999).

Russia's Angelina Melnikova finished third with 56.399.

"I didn't even watch the results myself, so it was really surprising," Tang told Xinhua.

"I did not think about the previous moves, even if it was incorrect. This silver medal means that I'm getting one step closer to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics."

Tang was determined to make up for her weaker performances in the qualifying round and team final.

"I tried to avoid the same mistakes," she explained. "When I was in the arena to compete, I only thought about the next move. Nothing else was in my mind."

And there appeared to be no resentment on Liu's part at Tang's promotion.

"She was on the sidelines to cheer for me today. That helped me a lot and made me feel relaxed and warm," Tang said of her teammate.

Errors on the balance beam had seen Tang qualify as the third-best Chinese in 21st place, with only the top two gymnasts per country eligible to participate in the final.

However, after replacing captain Liu, who suffered three falls in Tuesday's team final, Tang responded magnificently to the pressure with solid routines across all apparatuses, including a near-flawless set on the balance beam for 14.600 - only 0.033 off Biles' score.

Biles underlined her status as the favorite for next year's Olympic gold medal by becoming the first woman to win five all-round world titles.

It was the 22-year-old's 16th gold medal at the worlds and added to her all-around titles from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Needing 12.301 in the floor exercise to reclaim her crown in the final rotation, Biles scored 14.400 points to beat Tang by a huge margin of 2.100.

"It means the world to me," Biles said. "For my fifth, that's kind of unheard of so it was really exciting."

Biles recorded two penalties on the floor but still managed to secure the biggest margin of victory at a world championships under the Code of Points - a scoring system that was introduced for major events in 2006.

A year ago in Doha, Biles competed with a kidney stone and started with a shocking fall on her vault routine, but there were no hiccups this time as she dictated proceedings inside a packed arena.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist produced a massive Cheng vault, scoring 15.233 despite a 0.1 penalty for stepping out of bounds.

The second rotation saw her earn a score of 14.733 on the uneven bars, considered her weakest apparatus, but was still enough to hand her a lead of over one point.

Biles did not perform her eponymous double-double dismount off the balance beam, a skill widely thought to be under-valued in difficulty by the International Gymnastics Federation. Yet she still finished with a leading score of 14.633.

"Sometimes, I wonder how I do it," Biles said. "I wish I could have like an out-of-body experience to witness it because sometimes I think I'm going crazy."

It was her second world title of the week in Stuttgart, having already helped the United States to its fifth consecutive team title on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old is now just one short of male Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo's record haul of 23 medals - a milestone she could surpass by the end of the individual events at the championships this weekend.

Xinhua - Agencies