ROTTERDAM: Japan won the men's team title at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam on Tuesday, with Daiki Hashimoto producing a standout display as he helped his country finish ahead of Russia and China.
The battle for gold went down to the final of six rotations, with Japan and China separated by a mere one-tenth of a point, while Russia remained in contention, a further half point back.
Japan prevailed under pressure, thanks in large part to an excellent routine from Hashimoto on the horizontal bar. China's hopes were damaged when Yang Haonan made two costly mistakes in the floor exercise, stepping out of bounds before landing on his hands.
The errors opened the door for Russia to snatch silver, led by the consistency of Daniel Marinov across the parallel bars, vault and floor.
The top three teams secured the first qualification places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Britain missed out on the podium after finishing in fourth place.
The team final also offered a glimpse of Thursday's individual all-around competition, where a much-anticipated duel is expected between defending world champion Hashimoto and his Japanese teammate Shinnosuke Oka, the Olympic champion.
With China's Zhang Boheng, who beat both Japanese gymnasts at last month's Asian Games, sidelined by injury, the Russians could emerge as the main challengers.
Marinov and 18-year-old Arsenii Dukhno, who finished third in qualification behind the two Japanese gymnasts on his senior world championship debut, both delivered solid performances in Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena.
The competition continues on Wednesday with the women's team final, where China and the United States start as the favourites. The USA are bidding to extend a team winning streak that began at the 2011 world championships.
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