PARIS: Defending all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto faces a fierce fight if the Japanese gymnastics star is to retain his Tokyo crown at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Revenge is a powerful motivating force and one that will drive his arch-rival Zhang Boheng after China’s late collapse in the team finals.
Zhang’s China had Monday’s final in the bag, leading by more than three points with only the horizontal bar remaining.
But disaster struck when Su Weide fell twice. Tokyo bars champion Hashimoto, the last Japanese man to leave, then held his nerve to produce a flawless routine that clinched the title.
Up until that point, two-time world all-around champion Hashimoto had looked a long way from his prime.
He was the youngest-ever all-around gold medalist at the Covid-postponed 2020 Games – aged just 19 at the time – but was overshadowed by Zhang in qualifying in Paris and even failed to make the bars final.
In contrast, 24-year-old Zhang excelled to top the list of 24 qualifiers from Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka, with Hashimoto three-and-a-half points behind in third.
“My form was excellent, beyond my expectations,” beamed Zhang after qualifying on Saturday, who edged out Hashimoto for the 2021 world title.
Forty-eight hours later, after the team’s devastating final collapse, Zhang’s smile disappeared – replaced by the haunted look of a man who had just won the lottery but lost the ticket.
“We’re frustrated. We’ve done very well up to that point,” he said glumly.
If he can put this loss to one side, he has a great chance to end Japan’s recent dominance and become China’s first all-around champion since Yang Wei at the 2008 Beijing Games.
But if Hashimoto delivers, he will emulate compatriot Kohei Uchimura by retaining the all-around gold, keeping it in Japanese hands for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Games.
He readily admits he has yet to find top gear in Paris and points to an injury-plagued build-up to the 2024 Games – he crashed a high-bar jump in qualifying and fell from his horse on Monday.
“There were so many tough times. I got injured in May. That knocked me down a bit and I started doubting whether I could win the gold or not,” he said.
“I wasn’t perfect in the qualifying competition. Again, it affected my confidence.” A team gold could prove just the tonic he needed before this clash of the titans.
