Zhang Boheng regained men's all-around title with 82.965 points at the National Gymnastics Championships on Monday, but he was not that happy as his fans expected.

Zhang had won two straight men's individual titles since 2022 before Shi Cong upset him at last year's National Gymnastics Championships.

Zhang Boheng of Hunan competes in the parallel bars match of the men's all-around final at the National Gymnastics Championships 2025 in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)

Both athletes lacked luck this year. Shi broke his rib and was diagnosed pneumothorax less than three months before the tournament. Zhang injured his neck in rings training just one day before the departure, so he can hardly bend his head on the field.

"I thought I would not be able to compete here back then. So even now I'm still fifty percent away from my top form, and I'm very satisfied with myself," said Shi, who fell from the horizontal bar in the last round but still secured the silver medal at 79.765 points.

Zhang also stumbled off the pommel horse, but the gold medal came easily as he was the only gymnast who scored over eighty points in the final.

"Winning the gold makes me happy but I think more work is needed to be done for the Chinese men's gymnasts," said Zhang after the match.

The NHK Cup in Japan took place almost simultaneously with the National Gymnastics Championships. Notably, nearly 20 Japanese male all-around gymnasts surpassed the 80-point mark under the new 2025-2028 Code of Points.

"Compared with competitors like Japan, I think we should all improve our understanding of the new rules," said Zhang.

Lan Xingyu settled for the bronze medal at 79.632 points.

Source: China.org.cn