China shrugged off a slow start to clinch a record-extending 13th gold medal in the men's team final at the World Gymnastics Championships, outscoring their nearest rival Japan by 4.463 points in a one-sided affair in Liverpool on Thursday night. 

The star-studded Chinese team, featuring former world all-around champion Zhang Boheng and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Zou Jingyuan, made uncharacteristically sloppy errors during the qualifying round and nearly missed out on the final after finishing only fourth. 

However, the Asian powerhouse, who bagged the silver medal at the last edition of the showpiece event three years ago, regained their composure and held their nerve when the going got tough this time around.

Zou built a solid lead for China with his flawless routines on vault and rings, leaving Zhang to seal the triumph on the floor. They eventually posted a total of 257.858 points, while Japan finished a distant second on 253.395.  

It marked the largest margin of victory in the event in 15 years. Hosts Britain bounced back from a few falls to earn a stunning bronze at Italy's expense. 

The result also means that China have booked a well-deserved ticket to the event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

"This team gold medal means that Chinese men's team gymnastics is rising again," beamed Zhang. "We did so much better compared to the qualification and it [Olympic qualification] definitely helps reduce the pressure and anxiety. But we will not take it lightly, we will still work hard." 

"After one day of refreshing our minds and reflecting after the qualifiers, we got great momentum and rhythm today," he added. "On the first rotation we kind of struggled a little bit with nerves, especially we on pommel horse, which is difficult to control somehow."