China finish Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Baku with four medals

Chinese athletes have finished their performances at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup that ended in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday, with three silvers and one bronze medal.

Of the four gymnasts China sent to Baku, only Huang Mingqi had experience at major international tournaments. It was a great opportunity for the other three youngsters to adapt to new rules and prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Meng Zhiwei, 23, made the men's rings final with the fourth-best result from the preliminary round. He further improved his work and earned the silver medal with 13.800 points in the final. Home favorite Nikita Simonov won the gold with 14.233. The bronze went to Alex Diab of the United States.

Huang advanced to the men's vault final with 14.300 points, the best of all qualifiers. He fell short of a perfect result due to problematic landings, losing the gold to Nazar Chepurnyi of Ukraine by 0.05 points. Yahor Sharamkou of Belarus won the bronze.

Fifteen-year-old Chu Yiming impressed the crowd in the women's balance beam final with 13.266 points for a routine with a difficulty value of 5.7. She finished in second place behind the Japanese champion Haruka Nakamura who got 13.433. Greta Mayer of Hungary came in third.

Chu continued to perform in the women's floor exercise final where she secured a bronze medal with 12.766 points, behind gold medalist Rina Kishi and silver medalist Ayu Tokutsugi, both from Japan.