Taiwan gymnasts win silver, bronze at World Challenge Cup

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Taiwanese gymnast Tseng Wei-sheng (曾為聖) won a silver medal and Tang Chia-hung (唐嘉鴻) took bronze at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Challenge Cup 2025 in Paris on Sunday.

Tseng, 26, won his silver for the pommel horse with an average score of 13.916.

In his first attempt, he obtained a total score of 13.933 with a 5.200 score for degree of difficulty and an 8.733 for execution. His second attempt scored 5.200 for degree of difficulty and 8.700 for execution, totaling 13.900.

Tseng's coach Lin Yu-hsin (林育信) said that the pommel horse is a test of mental focus and consistency, and that Tseng has shown remarkable steadiness, even when competing against top athletes from around the world.

Lin said he would continue to work on Tseng's movements and stability, with the aim of winning a medal at the Asian Games in Nagoya in 2026.

The FIG is holding five World Challenge Cups in 2025. Athletes must compete in all five to qualify for annual rankings, with the three best performances taken into consideration.

The Paris leg of the World Challenge Cup marked the fourth competition of the year. So far, Tseng has won two golds and two silvers.

Lin said Tseng is "certain" to contend for the overall annual title.

Also on Sunday, Tang took the bronze medal in the men's horizontal bar with a total score of 14.366.

Even though he raised the difficulty level to 6.700, he lost his balance when landing and his hand touched the ground, reducing his execution score to 7.666.

Tang said that he had wanted to try different movements and difficulty levels, so he deliberately increased the difficulty of his routine in the finals.

After the competition, Tang will return to Taiwan to prepare for the National Games in October, as well as the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships starting Oct. 19 in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, gymnast Hung Yuan-hsi (洪源禧) advanced to the finals in men's parallel bars and ranked sixth with a score of 13.266.

The fifth FIG World Challenge Cup will be held in Hungary from Sept. 26-28.