Chinese gymnast Zhang Boheng competes in the pommel horse of the men's all-around final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sept. 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)
Gymnastic technical expert looks to competition between newly crowned Asian Games champion Zhang Boheng and Tokyo Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto at Paris Games.
ANTWERP, Belgium, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The rivalry between China's gymnast Zhang Boheng and Daiki Hashimoto of Japan would be a true warriors' fight, said Arturs Mickevics, president of the men's technical committee of the sport's world governing body FIG, on Friday.
Mickevics made the statement in response to a question raised by Xinhua at the pre-tournament press conference in Antwerp, where the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships to be held from September 30 to October 8.
Zhang Boheng competes in the rings event at the 31st FISU World University Games in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province on Aug. 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)
Zhang, 23, was the 2021 world champion in the men's all-around and just won the Asian Games gold medal of the event with an 89.299-point high score in Hangzhou on Tuesday. He's been regarded as the most powerful challenger to 22-year-old Hashimoto who claimed two golds in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
"I saw the results (from Asian Games) and I know both young men. They are still developing. It's not the last call they got. I strongly believe that their one-on-one competition (in the men's all around) during the Olympics will be amazing," said Mickevics.
"Looking forward to the encounter, it does not matter who scores more. The two real warriors fight. I truly believe that it's important to have fun. They did and will do. We're looking forward to having these two strongest men's competition in the future."
Hashimoto reacts after the pommel horse event of the individual all-around final at the 31st FISU World University Games in Chengdu on Aug. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
Zhang will not show up in Antwerp where China's women's team need to fight hard to qualify for Paris 2024 while their men's counterparts have secured an Olympic berth. ■