Biles leads US bid to defend team gymnastics title

Simone Biles will lead Olympic champions the United States in their bid to defend their team title at the world gymnastics championships in Glasgow on Tuesday.

The US women topped qualifying, with two-time defending all-around women's champion Biles leading the way in the vault, beam and floor to top the all-around individual competition.

Biles, 18, will be joined by US teammates including Olympic all-around champion Gabrielle Douglas and Olympic floor champion Alexandra Raisman, who both fell during qualifying, as they bid to win a fifth world gold.

"I feel like I let them (USA) down and I have to work hard on the mental part of my routine," said Raisman.

But Biles, who qualified first for Thursday's all-around final ahead of Swiss Giulia Steingruber and Douglas, warned: "Once we get a little mental break, I think we'll be good."
Russia, the 2014 bronze medallists, qualified in second position, topping the Americans on uneven bars with newcomer Seda Tutkhalian their top all-rounder.

Britain are bidding for their first ever team medal after qualifying ahead of 2014 silver medallists China, who were fourth after errors on uneven bars and beam.

China's leading all-rounder Shang Chunsong qualified 11th for the all-around.

"We may not be able to beat the USA but we must have the spirit and confidence like our men's team, in order to perform the best we can in the final," said Shang.

Also challenging for medals are Japan, Canada and the Netherlands.

-- Japan poised for team gold --

In the men's competition, reigning all-around champion Kohei Uchimura will led Japan's bid for a first team title since 1978 on Wednesday night, before his quest for an unprecedented sixth individual all-around title on Friday.
Olympic champions China have won every team gold but one since 1994.

Uchimura, 26, scored highest in qualifying which finished in the Hydro Arena on Monday night but Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev, the reigning European champion, was just 0.433 behind the Japanese star.

Verniaiev, who also qualified for parallel bars, pommel horse and vault finals, warned he would do everything to dethrone 'King Kohei'.

"I have a few plans for the final, but those plans also bring risks," the 22-year-old said.

Britain, Russia, the United States, Switzerland, Brazil and South Korea will also fight it out, with the eight teams also qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics, a first for the Brazilian hosts.

Three of the stars of the London Olympics, however, failed to make it through to the apparatus finals -- Dutchman Epke Zonderland, Hungary's Krisztian Berki and Brazil's Arthur Zanetti.

Defending two-time high bar champion Zonderland can still qualify to defend his Olympic title with the Dutch men at April's Test Event in Rio.

"The preparation time was too short because of my injury," said Zonderland, who recently suffered concussion.

"I tried to go into the competition with a positive attitude, but it didn't happen. These world championships are over for me."

Berki, the three-time world and reigning Olympic pommel horse champion, now has little hope of defending his title in Rio, but Olympic rings champion Zanetti booked his ticket to the Summer Games with the Brazilian team.

Source: AFP