Zhang Qingying competes on the balance beam during the women's qualifying session at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta on October 21, 2025. Photo: VCG

The second day of the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on Tuesday saw Chinese women gymnasts take to the qualification rounds across multiple events, as the team aims to balance youthful vigor with seasoned experience in its new lineup. Zhang Qingying advanced to the women's all-around and balance beam finals, Deng Yalan qualified for the vault final, and Yang Fanyuwei secured a spot in the uneven bars final.

"This year's Chinese women's gymnastics team represents a fresh blend of youth and experience, with quite a few new faces that might surprise the public," veteran sports commentator Wang Dazhao told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Among the standout athletes, Paris Olympic silver medalist Zhou Yaqin was China's biggest medal hope on the balance beam but failed to advance to finals due to two falls. The injury was expected to be the main cause, with Wang cautioned that the event's high level of unpredictability makes composure and consistency crucial on competition day.

Uneven bars specialist Yang has emerged as another key figure to watch. At the 2025 FIG World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, Yang performed an exceptionally difficult full-twisting layout Jaeger release, a move now officially recognized by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) as the "Yang." Her main rival for the title will likely be Olympic champion Kaylia Nemour, setting up a much-anticipated duel between the two.

It's worth noting that 26-year-old vault specialist Deng Yalan finally made her debut on the international stage. 

"Traditionally, Chinese gymnasts have been known for their youth and slight physiques, standing in contrast to the taller and more muscular Western athletes," Wang said. "Now, seeing an older and more powerfully built gymnast like Deng still capable of contending for medals reflects a more flexible and adaptive approach to athlete development in Chinese gymnastics."

While the women's team competed in the qualifiers, the men's team made a strong statement in Monday's events. Veteran Zou Jingyuan delivered a near-perfect parallel bars routine featuring a massive 6.0 difficulty score, earning the highest individual score of the meet so far and easily qualifying for the finals. 

As the only Olympic parallel bars champion in the field, Zou already boasts five golds and one silver from past World Championships and will be chasing a record-breaking fourth title in this event. Teammate Lan Xingyu also qualified for the finals in both the parallel bars and rings, ranking first in both events.

Another headline name, Zhang Boheng, suffered a rare mistake on the parallel bars during qualification but rebounded strongly in other apparatus to finish third overall in the all-around qualification, allowing him to advance to the finals alongside compatriot Shi Cong.

Zhang, who took silver in the men's all-around at the Paris Olympics, first rose to global prominence by winning the all-around world title in Kitakyushu, Japan in 2021. "Zhang's consistency across all six events made him dominate the all-around competition, and what matters most is overcoming the mental hurdles," Wang observed. "Shi and Zhang both have strong podium potential."

"The most noteworthy change this year," Wang added, "is that the Chinese gymnastics team is consciously building depth across multiple events. From Lan Xingyu to Huang Mingqi, it's clear that the broader strength gives coaches far more flexibility in team selection."

The 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are being held from October 19 to 25 in Jakarta, Indonesia.