The dream to reclaim an Olympic title in rings has been held for more than two decades after the sport's legend Li Ning brought the first gold in the event at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Li Jing and Li Xiaoshuang kicked off their rush to the title in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but only finished as the silver and bronze medalists.

The winter came thereafter for China's rings event as no Chinese gymnast had stood on the Olympic rings podium since then.

Few people would have noticed Chen when he appeared in the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne. An injury in the shoulder forced him to stay far away from the podium and only brought a ranking of the eighth.

After honing his skills for one year, Chen began to shine in the 2006 World Championships. Relying on his consistency in execution, he defeated Jordan Jovtchev, the silver medalist in the Athens Olympics Games, and won the gold in rings. In 2007, Chen crowned again the Stuttgart World Championships, heralding another era of Chinese gymnasts in the event.

The experience endowed Chen confidence and mental strength. He became the first gymnast to compete in the team final of the Beijing Olympics and contributed 16.575 points, the highest score in rings, for China's final victory

In addition, Chen has made preparation for his another dazzling performance in men's all-around in the future. He gained no medal after a wrist wound forced him to put an abrupt end to his routine in horizontal bar in the all-around final. The 23-year-old leading gymnast reaped precious experience at the Olympic arena.

Huang Yubin, head coach of the Chinese gymnastic team, told reporters that Chen's performance in the all-around was satisfactory as he came to accumulate experience and prepare for the future.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2008)