Chinese Yang Wei has the most decorated record in Asian Games gymnastic history and is now looking to leave his Athens heartbreak behind him and deliver the home crowd an all around gold medal of the Beijing Olympics this August.
All eyes will be on him, the best men's all-around gymnast in the last two world championships, as the hosts are expected to make the most of their home advantage in Beijing against challenges from the sport's superpowers the United States, Japan, Russia and Romania.
He will be on the same level of Paul Hamm of the United States, Hiroyuki Tomita of Japan, and Fabian Hambuechen of Germany - all looking to make the biggest runs at the most-coveted individual title in Beijing.
With the home crowd's backing, Yang is confident to banish his Olympic disappointment and top the podium.
"To compete on home turf, you surely have great pressure, and I think I can turn the pressure into the motivation. Whatever happens, I'm going for the gold in Beijing," said Yang.
The 28-year-old veteran has eight world championship golds under his belt and was part of the men's team that won at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 but has struggled to produce an Olympic individual gold.
He was so near yet so far to the all-around title in the 2004 Games, leading the field after five apparatus but suddenly crashing out of medal contention with a fall from the final apparatus high bar.
Yang finished seventh and Hamm was handed a dramatic victory due to a judge's miscalculation.
Hamm, coming back after two-and-a-half year out of the sport, is coping with his hand injury sustained in May and 2005 world champion Tomita has been struggling to find his form, while Yang declared his comeback in the past two years.
He reached the peak in 2006 as he claimed the parallel, all-around and men's team titles in the Arhus Championship. And the next year, Yang overcame another spectacular fall from the high bar to win a second straight world all-around title in Stuttgart.
"The parallel gold medal in 2006 is the first world title I won in individual events," said Yang. "It was more than a gold medal. It gave me great confidence when I am facing the Olympics in Beijing."
The multiple world champion started his winning ways in 1998 when he took gold in the floor at the Asian Games, going on to take an individual silver at Sydney in 2000.
(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2008)