Oksana Chusovitina Photo: CFP

Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina's latest bid for a world championship medal ended before it could begin after she pulled out of the competition in China due to an injury suffered at last month's Asian Games.

But the 39-year-old, the ­oldest entrant at the world tournament in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang ­Autonomous Region, has ­already returned to training as pain in her left foot receded.

"I'm okay now. I'm starting slowly to work on it but I still can't tumble," the Soviet-trained gymnast told AFP after working out with her teammates, who are aged between 16 and 20, at a championship training hall in Nanning on Thursday.

"I'm getting ready for more competitions," she said, with her sights firmly set on her ­seventh Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Chusovitina underwent surgery on her left ankle six months ago, and tore ligaments in the same foot while training for the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

She defied the injury to compete in her favored event, the vault, and took the silver medal.

But lingering pain and advice from her doctors forced her to give up plans to compete in the all-around in Nanning.

"Every medal has a meaning to me but the silver medal means a lot," said the Uzbek, who has collected two Olympic and 11 world championship medals - including four golds - as she switched her affiliation from the Soviet Union to Germany and her native Uzbekistan.

"Every person and athlete has their own limits, physically. For me, at this point, I don't feel any different than I felt 20 years ago," said Chusovitina, whose top-level career began in 1991.

"So far I have ability. I am still a medal contender and I'm still training for my seventh Olympic Games," said the gymnast, who is 1.53 meters tall. "I have no limits at this point."

Coach and former Unified Team teammate Svetlana Boginskaya said Chusovitina was "definitely not an ordinary person."

"She's definitely, I don't even know, maybe an alien," Boginskaya said.

Even on the sidelines in Nanning, Chusovitina has a role to play for her teammates, about half her age.

"They are pushing themselves harder and, of course, when I give them pointers and tips, they greatly appreciate it and try to do their best," she said.