Russia ended Asia's domination of the Olympic gymnastics men's team event on Monday when they survived a ferocious fightback from China and Japan at the Tokyo Games to claim the gold medal for the first time in 25 years. What was expected to be a tight, tense battle between defending champions Japan, Russia and China was exactly that as the three powerhouses swapped places over the six rotations. “There was news this morning that there was a typhoon moving towards Tokyo," Nagornyy told reporters. "Well, the typhoon made it here and took gold and is sitting in front of you now." Familiar foes once again battled it out for the medals as Japan, Russia and China have claimed every men's team gold since the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, with the exception of the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Games when the United States claimed the top prize.

Source: The Star July 26, 2021 14:26 UTC