Hangzhou, China, October 3, 2023: Combining the aerial skills of a gymnast and a high diver, China’s Yan Langyu won the gold medal in the Asian Games men’s trampoline final at Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon.
The 24-year-old Yan scored 59.850 points with a strong final routine as the fifth competitor, then waited to see if the number would hold up. It did, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Kazakhstan’s Danil Mussabayev took the silver with 57.270, while Japan’s Hiroto Yamada claimed the bronze at 57.100.
“I am delighted to win this gold medal,” stated Yan, the 2021 world champion. “The competition has been quite nerve wracking for me overall but also a very exciting and thrilling process."
Yan believes that trampoline is a sport where the focus is inward.
“I think our sport is about competing with yourself,” Yan noted. “If you can’t calm yourself down, you can’t perform. This result has given me more determination and confidence.”
Mussabayev did not seem satisfied with second place and is already looking ahead.
“It is quite a regret that during the competition today there were times that I didn’t perform really well,” Mussabayev commented. “I hope that I can do better and win gold in the future.”
Mussabayev mentioned that retaining concentration is difficult when other competitors preceding you are making mistakes.
“It is very hard when athletes make a lot of mistakes in front of you,” Mussabayev said. “But you sit, and in your head you go through your own combination, gathering your thoughts just to get the job done.”
Yamada was content with his achievement despite not being at his best.
“First of all, to win the bronze medal and be able to take it back to Japan, I am delighted,” Yamada remarked. “I wasn’t on top of my form today.”
Yamada did a second qualifying routine, even though he had already clinched a spot in the final round with his first routine.
“On my first jump in qualifying I didn’t really show all of my abilities,” Yamada noted. “On my second jump I really wanted to warm up for the final. That was my plan.”
Yan went out of the competition area after a jump in his first qualification routine, scoring only 6.800. But he recovered to qualify for the final with a strong performance that earned 59.430 on his second routine.
China’s Wang Zisai, who was considered a strong medal contender, led after the qualification round with 61.120, with Yan in second. Yamada was third on 58.580.
Wang, who won two World Cup events earlier this year, started off well in his final routine before tumbling into the padding after an early jump and scoring just 13.090 to finish last in eighth place.
Kazakhstan’s Pirmammad Aliev crashed out onto the floor on a somersault in a scary moment in his final routine. The mishap resulted in him scoring just 17.880 and finishing seventh.