Cheng Fei, fresh from the 39th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, where she captured three of the eight golds China took out a possible 14, remarked that now "Zhang Nan is the pivotal figure (of our team)". The three golds marked Chen's most successful gymnastics championships yet.

China's Cheng Fei holds a flower after receiving the gold medal in the vault event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, October 20, 2006. [Reuters]

Cheng, 18, was honoring her mentor and teammate Zhang, 20, who didn't win an individual title at the championships, during an interview with sina.com.cn at Beijing Capital International Airport after returning from Denmark on October 24, 2006.

"I believe Zhang still has the potential to develop by 2008. She's already a world champion now after her run of bad luck," Cheng said. She said that Zhang is still the women team's spiritual leader both in terms of technique and world arena experience.

China's Zhang Nan competes on the beam during the women's team final at the 39th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, October 18, 2006. Team China won the gold followed by silver medallist team U.S. and Russia the bronze. [Reuters]

The triple gold medalist tried to soft-pedal her potential influence after her latest triumph. "My teammates, like Zhou Zhuoru and Pang Panpan will also grow after this championship. I am not in a leading role, except in the sense that everyone has been encouraging me," Cheng told sina. Zhou and Pang were both contributing members to the team title.

The women's team gold brought by Cheng and her teammates is China's first women's team world title. "We won with our superior strength - none of us made any apparent faults in this exciting match," Cheng said of their brilliant performance.

Defending vault champion Cheng, who had a vault jump named after her at the 2005 championships denied that she has reached her peak in individual events.

"Something unexpected happened in Denmark. Three gymnasts did two and a half twists and three North Koreans did the Cheng Fei jump in the qualifiers. All of this prompted me to do better," Cheng said.

"I will do my best in each competition before the 2008 Beijing games, and that will be the best preparation for the games at home."