China leads gold tally at Cairo Gymnastics World Cup finale

Alsharq Tribune-M.Essam 

China led the gold tally at the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Cairo as the competition concluded on Monday, winning three of the five titles decided on the final day.

The second and closing day of finals featured three men's apparatus events and two women's, with China collecting gold medals in the men's parallel bars and horizontal bar and the women's floor exercise, while Armenia and Algeria claimed the other two titles.

China opened its gold account on the last day through Ke Qinqin, who won the women's floor exercise title, after the Chinese pair of Ke and Qiu Qiyuan had taken silver and bronze behind Algeria's Olympic champion Kaylia Nemour in the women's balance beam final.

Nemour's balance beam gold marked her second title in Cairo, after winning the uneven bars crown on Sunday, underscoring Algeria's strong showing in the women's events.

Liu Tao, coach of China's national women's artistic gymnastics team, said the Cairo World Cup served as an important test for his athletes, offering them international exposure while also helping the coaching staff identify areas that need further improvement.

"This World Cup is primarily aimed at giving athletes valuable experience -- helping them adapt to the atmosphere of international competition and build confidence," Liu told Xinhua.

"At the same time, the technical and psychological issues exposed during the event will be carefully addressed through further training and adjustment, in preparation for future competitions," he added.

China then added its second gold of the day through Liu Yang in the men's parallel bars final, while Egypt's Mohamed Afify secured silver for the host nation and neutral athlete Arsenii Dukhno took bronze.

Li Hongyan sealed China's third gold of the day by winning the men's horizontal bar final, ahead of Cyprus' Marios Georgiou and the Philippines' Karl Jahrel Eldrew Yulo.

Li said China's strong showing in Cairo came from sticking to the team's training plan and focusing on execution rather than chasing gold medals.

"As long as each of us did our own job well, that was enough. We were not thinking in terms of an absolute gold medal," Li told Xinhua. "We just followed the coaching team's arrangements and training plan, and the results came naturally."

"Through a lot of training, tests and competition-like preparation, I felt well-sharpened, so in the competition I just needed to perform at my training level," he said, noting that repeated training and mental adjustment had helped him manage pressure in major competitions.

"When I get nervous, especially when I really want to win gold, that feeling can cause some deviation in my movements. But through a lot of training and mental adjustment, I can bring those movements back," Li concluded.

In the men's vault final, Armenia's Artur Davtyan claimed gold, followed by Kazakhstan's Assan Salimov with silver and the Czech Republic's Jonas Danek with bronze.

Held from April 3 to 6, the Cairo World Cup brought together 128 gymnasts from 33 countries and regions competing across men's and women's apparatus events at the Cairo International Stadium indoor halls complex.