Ripe with Talent: The Women's

After its whopping success at the Beijing Olympics the National Women's Gymnastics Team saw the departure of only one member – Li Shanshan, and therefore continued to maintain its high athletic level.

Cheng Fei, who impressed the world with her signature "Cheng Fei Jump" on the vault, is a well-seasoned and highly valued team member. She has thus far participated in three world gymnastics championships, two gymnastics world cups and two Olympic Games, acquiring nine world championships, more than any other Chinese female gymnast. "In her career Cheng Fei has accomplished significant technical feats. I hope that despite her current injuries, she will be able to return to competition by the end of this year or next," said Lu Shanzhen, head coach of Chinese Women's Gymnastics Team.

Yang Yilin earned the world's admiration for her performance at the Beijing Olympics, which won her a bronze for women's all-round. "Yang Yilin is comparable to the great Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina," appraises Lu Shanzhen. "She shows solid potential to win gold, especially with her uneven bars work. Like Svetlana Khorkina, her movements reach a kind of artistic level, enchanting her viewers."

Then there is Jiang Yuyuan, another multitalented athlete with world-class skills. She has mastered the Yurchenko Stretch with a 5/2 Turn – the most difficult of moves in the vault event. On the floor exercise and uneven bars she continues to do well.

Then there is Beijing Olympic gold medallist He Kexin. This adept took first place in the uneven bars at the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships using her top-notch precision. In this form she became the first female Chinese gymnast to win straight gold medals on the uneven bars at the Olympic Games, the World Cup and the World Championships.

Other starlets include Sui Lu and Huang Qiushuang. The former shows talent at floor exercise routines and balance beam, and the latter has reached world levels in the individual all-around.

Developing Versatile Athletes

Though the new crop of Chinese gymnasts is growing fast, it is not realistic to expect them to overtake their senior counterparts overnight. The shift in rules guarding gymnastic competitions has raised new challenges for them.

In 2009 the International Gymnastics Federation launched the 5-3-3 format: a team shall provide five gymnasts, instead of six as before, to compete on any single piece of apparatus, and the three highest scores will be taken into account for the team total. "Under the new rules a team's winning chances depend more on the versatility of its players. So the Chinese Gymnastics Team must adjust its strategy for athletic development in an effort to cultivate all-around gymnasts," said Huang Yubin.

With the loss of Yang Wei to retirement after the Beijing Olympics, the men's team has faced a reduction in overall strength. By the time of the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships, it didn't even have athletes ready to compete in the men's individual all-around.

The women's team has its own problems. The younger girls are yet to amass enough experience for major competitions, and may falter under stress in these events. Even Olympic medallists He Kexin and Yang Yilin have to grapple with this reliability issue.

"Now the primary goal of both teams is to cultivate versatile athletes," said Huang Yubin. "The development of our young gymnasts needs to be tempered. Luckily we have the time."