By Hana Al Dayyat, OCA Young Reporter from Jordan
Nagoya, Japan, September 24, 2026: China’s Lan Xingyu retained his men’s still rings title at the 20th Asian Games on Thursday, turning back a determined challenge from Japan’s Kiichi Kaneta at Nagoya Rainbow Hall.
Lan captured the gold medal ahead of Kaneta, who secured silver on home soil after finishing just 0.200 points behind the Chinese champion. China’s Zou Jingyuan took bronze, giving China two spots on the podium.
The victory tested Lan’s endurance as a veteran international, with the Chinese gymnast noting that defending his title brought greater physical demands than his earlier campaigns.
"This gold medal came through more difficulty than the last one," Lan said. "What is different is that, with age, and with another four years gone, the training and the whole build-up are a considerable test."
Kaneta pushed the defending champion with clean execution, but the Japanese specialist acknowledged that Lan’s higher difficulty value decided the contest.
"The execution scores were very close but, to put it simply, the Chinese gymnast had a higher difficulty score," Kaneta said. "That was the difference I had right now."
Lan turns his focus next toward the World Championships and preparing for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.