The mighty Team China

The 2022 Asian Games start tomorrow in Hangzhou, China, with this continental multi-sport event postponed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Because this is such a prestigious event for Asian athletes, many nations are sending top teams featuring star athletes, prioritizing it over the world championships, where qualifications begin the day after the gymnastics competition at the Asian Games conclude. Some federations – like that of host nation China – are sending different squads to the Asian Games and worlds, but others with Olympic qualification on the line at worlds will have teams and individuals tackling both.

Below, you can find everything you’ll need to follow the competition over the next few days, including who’s competing, how qualifications for worlds work, and how you can watch.

Who’s Competing?

The field expected to compete at Asian Games is an excellent one as a whole, but China’s MAG team is exceptional. Led by 2021 world all-around champion Zhang Boheng, the team also includes Olympic medalists Xiao Ruoteng, Lin Chaopan, and Zou Jingyuan, and 2021 worlds rings champion Lan Xingyu.

With the women still contending for an Olympics berth, the stronger WAG team will be in Antwerp, though the athletes here are still among the country’s strongest, including Olympians Tang Xijing and Zhang Jin, two-time reigning national vault champion Yu Linmin, first-year senior and this year’s Asian Championships beam silver medalist Zhang Xinyi, and Zuo Tong, who is this year’s Asian Championships bars bronze medalist.

Japan’s best athletes are at worlds, but the teams here will be nothing to sneeze at, featuring Olympic medalists Kitazono Takeru and Tanigawa Wataru, world medalist Tanigawa Kakeru, pommel horse standout Tsumura Ryota, and high bar standout Kawakami Shohei on the men’s team, while the women’s team is led by worlds veteran (and current worlds alternate) Sakaguchi Ayaka, and also includes all-around and beam standout Okamura Mana, vaulter Ushioku Kohane, bars standout Serita Mikako, and newcomer Masui Misaki, who will make her international debut in Hangzhou.

On the individual level, particularly exciting here will be the pommel horse field, which features Olympic contender Ahmad Abu Al Soud of Jordan, who won silver on this event at worlds last year and most recently won the title at the Mersin Challenge Cup with a massive 15.550, the top score in all of 2023. Abu Al Soud is one of the athletes planning on also competing at worlds, along with fellow pommels standouts Lee Chih-Kai of Taiwan and Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan. I don’t know how they’re going to be physically or mentally prepared enough to compete at worlds just days after the pommels final in Hangzhou, especially given the lengthy flight and the six-hour time difference!

Iran is also sending some incredible athletes, including vault specialist Mahdi Olfati, rings specialist Mahdi Ahmad Kohani, and high bar specialist Mohhamadreza Hamidi, all of whom qualified to world championships for their respective apparatuses, though opted to compete here instead. In addition to Lee, Taiwan will have worlds competitors Lin Guan-Yi, Shiao Yu-Jan, and Yeh Cheng here, and though South Korea has sent its stronger WAG and MAG athletes to worlds, we will see world medalist Kim Hansol competing here. And I really enjoy Miguel Besana of the Philippines, who qualified to worlds on vault and high bar, but will compete here instead, and could be

On the women’s side, Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan notably chose to compete here instead of at worlds, and should be among the top athletes to watch for the vault podium. Also keep an eye on Ting Hua-Tien of Taiwan both in the all-around and on beam, especially as she’s one who will make the trip to Antwerp to fight for her second Olympics berth the following week, and Sasiwimon Mueangphuan of Thailand is always one to watch on floor.

Former U.S. gymnasts Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung-Ruivivar were both expected to represent the Philippines in Hangzhou, and would’ve added some great depth to their new country’s team, but unfortunately neither was included on the final roster, with Malabuyo reportedly dealing with injuries, while the Philippine Olympic Committee fought for Jung-Ruivivar’s late inclusion to the roster, but was blocked by Chinese officials.

I think I’m most excited to see how North Korea will look here. We haven’t seen this team compete anywhere since before the Covid pandemic started, making it just about four years since they’ve had any international experience. Only three men will compete – two-time worlds competitor Ri Wi Chol, 33-year-old Jong Ryongil, and newcomer Pak Song Hyok – but the women are fielding a full team, led by 2020 Olympic Games qualifier Kim Su Jong, who was forced to forfeit her spot when North Korea withdrew from Tokyo. Her 2019 worlds teammates An Chang Ok and Kim Son Hyang are also on the roster, as are Ryu Mi Rae, who is entirely unfamiliar to me, and Sim Hae Won, who last competed at the Junior Asian Championships in 2017, where she won the bronze medal on bars.

A full roster of all competitors is available on our WAG and MAG team master list.

When’s It Happening?

Here’s the complete schedule, along with a breakdown of who’s in each subdivision. All times are local to Hangzhou, which is 12 hours ahead of ET.

How Can We Watch?

China’s CCTV Sports will be showing most of the events live, with the exception of the first and second subdivisions on the first two days of competition. You can access all CCTV channels at the link above using a VPN (though be warned that many VPN services for purchase do not offer China as an option), and should be able to find Subdivision 3 of the MAG and WAG team final/individual qualification rounds as well as both all-around finals on channel 16, while both apparatus final days will air on channel 5. Other broadcasts will come from TBS Sports (Japan), Sony LIV (India), and MeWatch (Singapore), so if you aren’t able to access CCTV, you can try these!

Live scores and results should be available through Hangzhou 2022 – click through each session to see the full rotation groups and start lists, and when a competition is underway, the results should be updated as it goes along.

Article by Lauren Hopkins