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Chinese women's gymnastics team secures Olympic spot

Xinhua, October 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

China booked a place in the women's gymnastics team competition at next year's Rio Olympic Games after finishing fourth at the World Championships qualifications here on Saturday.

Chen Siyi, Fan Yilin, Mao Yi, Shang Chunsong, Tan Jiaxin and Wang Yan collected a total of 225.127 points, behind the United States, Russia and Britain.

Top eight teams qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The other four teams are Italy, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands.

Shang Chunsong and Wang Yan, ranked 11th and 19th in the individual standings, qualified for the all-around finals.

"I was only OK on vault but I'm not so satisfied with the other events, especially the beam. I fell from the beam because I was so nervous," Shang said.

Shang also entered the finals of the uneven bars along with teammate Fan Yilin. Wang Yan will compete in the finals of vault and beam.

On the team final, Shang said, "We may not be able to beat the United States but we must have the confidence like our men's team in order to perform the best we can in the final."

The dominant U.S. team surged atop the field in the second and last day qualifications with a total of 236.611 points. Russia was second in 231.437 and Britain collected 227.162.

Two-time world all-around champion Simone Biles, whose stunning performances put her four points ahead of her nearest rival in the individual standings, said they will retain the title on Tuesday.

"We've been going for so long and I think we needed a bit of a mental break, so that's where a lot of our mistakes came into play," said Biles. "But once we get a little mental break, I think we'll be good."

Biles is tipped to become the first woman to win three consecutive world all-around titles.

Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber qualified second in the all-around event and 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabrielle Douglas of the United States qualified third.

While the first seven nations were present in London four years ago, the Netherlands will be returning a women's team to the Games for the first time since 1976.

Those who failed to enter top eight will get a second chance at the Olympic Test Event on April 16-19 in Rio. Olympic host country Brazil, along with France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, South Korea and Switzerland will also be in Rio in the spring, aiming to advance a team to the Games. The eight teams will battle for the final four team berths for the Games. Endite