Chinese teenager leads in rings qualifications at gymnastics worlds

China's Liu Yang surprised the field to lead the men's rings qualifications at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday. 

The 19-year-old, competing in the world championships for the first time, scored 15.866 points with perfect holding strength positions and inverted cross, earning the first place to the finals.

Brazil's Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti, who upset Liu's teammate Chen Yibin to win the gold medal at last year's London Olympics, was second in 15.773 points. He showed his exercise like it was the most simple one he ever did, although he had the highest difficulty.

Japanese legend Kohei Uchimura showed the all-round event is still his domain, going to the final with 91.924 points and looking sure to win his fourth successive world title.

Uchimura, last year's Olymic gold medalist, also topped the standings in the horizontal bar with 15.658 points.

China booked two berths in the six-apparatus finals, with 18-year-old Lin Chaopan fourth and national champion Zhou Shixiong fifth.

Lin and Zhou are expected to regain some glory for the Chinese team in the event since they have slumped badly after Beijing Olympic champion Yang Wei retired. Their best result was Zhou Haibin's 18th finish in the 2011 worlds.

Lin also qualified for both bars finals and Shi, despite finishing fifth in the parallel bars, will have to give way to another young Chinese You Hao, who was fourth, owing to the two per country rule.

Former world champion Zhang Hongtao, the only Chinese here having world championships experience, was third in the pommel horse. At 27, it will be his last worlds before retirement.

A total of 10 Chinese gymnasts, six men and four women, are competing at the world championships and eight of them are first timers.

"Our young gymnasts have done a good job," said Ye Zhennan, China's team manager. "We have seen their progress and how they can improve to catch up world's best."