Romania out – China through at world champ’ship

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GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct 24, (AP): The Chinese women’s team eased through qualifying at the 2015 world gymnastics championships on Saturday, though they were hardly sharp as they began their quest to track down the heavily favored US.

China posted a team total of 225.127 during a workmanlike performance around the SSE Hydro, good enough for third overall behind Russia and Britain with the defending world champion Americans scheduled to compete later Saturday.

“We are not satisfied with our performance this morning, but if we should perform at our normal level, we can still get a medal,” said Chen Siyi.

The scores will be reset for the eight-team final on Tuesday, giving the Chinese a couple of days to work on things after a surprisingly sloppy set on balance beam and uneven bars, where they are typically known for their elegant yet sophisticated routines.

Three of the five Chinese slipped off at some point during their respective sets on bars. Only Fan Yilin stood out, her 14.966 helping China steady itself. Three of the four competitors on beam wobbled or hopped off, all three scoring 13.833 or worse.

“We have improvements to make as a team,” Shang Chunsong said. “We will try our very best in every step.”

China’s finish bumped Romania out of the top eight, meaning the Romanians must head to the Olympic test event in Brazil next April if they want to secure a spot in the 2016 Summer Games. It’s a stunning turn for a country that has medaled in the team portion of every Olympics since 1976.

Romanian star Larisa Iordache, who qualified for the individual all-around final but fled the mix zone in tears on Friday afternoon, appeared to be in better spirits Saturday. She tweeted out thanks for the support she and the team received after the most disappointing day in the program’s history.

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