Beijing Olympic Games

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By Pritha Sarkar

BEIJING, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Zou Kai tightened China’s stranglehold in the men’s Olympic gymnastics competition on Sunday when he tumbled to glory on the floor after favourites Diego Hypolito and Marian Dragulescu fluffed their routines.

Hypolito and Dragulescu were expected battle it out for the top prize, as between them they had won five world titles on the apparatus.

But Dragulescu was the first to trip up during a forward twisting somersault and grimaced as he banged into the floor mat. The judges took four minutes to deliver their verdict and when the score of 14.850 flashed up, the Romanian knew he medal hopes were over.

Hypolito had high hopes of becoming the first Brazilian to win an Olympic gymnastics title and for the first 60 seconds of his routine, he seemed poised to put the South American country on top of the podium.

He launched into his final tumble, executing two backward flips followed by a double somersault and then simply fell back.

Looking totally crushed, he did not bother to acknowledge the judges as is customary in the sport and instead slowly trudged off the floor holding his head in his hands.

Stunned by his misfortune, he could not even look up when his mark of 15.200 was posted.

While Hypolito and Dragulescu, who finished sixth and seventh respectively, tried to digest their flop shows on the floor, Zou appeared to be energised by the boisterous chants of “Go China” from the home crowd.

Deafening roars greeted each of his complex twists and soaring somersaults and after completing his display, he punched the air in delight and ran off to exchange high fives with his coaches.

Zou earned a score of 16.050, the first time the 16.000 barrier had been broken on the apparatus in Beijing.

Gervasio Deferr of Spain, twice an Olympic vault champion, finished 0.275 of a point behind while Anton Golotsutskov of Russia was awarded the bronze with 15.725.

A jubilant Deferr, who opted not to defend his vault title here, blew kisses into the crowd and held up three fingers to signify his three Olympic medals as he was awarded the silver on the podium.

Zou’s win preserved Chinese men’s 100 percent record in Beijing after they won the team title and Yang Wei triumphed in the all-around. (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar; Editing by Alex Richardson)