Liu Yang back on top in men's rings in Doha

Doha, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China's gymnast Liu Yang returned from injuries to grab the gold medal in the men's rings at the International Gymnastics Federation's World Cup here on Friday.

After qualifying for the final on top, Liu easily pocketed the gold with a score of 15.366 points with both the highest execution and difficulty points.

Opening with a pair of excellent inverted crosses and routinely showing several difficult moves, Liu repeated his trademark neck-rolling while performing an iron cross strength hold, like he did at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The Tokyo Olympic champion suffered injuries last year and had never stood on an international pitch after the Tokyo Olympics. After clinching the gold as expected, he wrote on social media: "So excited to hear the national anthem. I'm back!"

This is also the first gold medal of China in Doha as Qiu Qiyuan placed sixth in uneven bars, Chen Zhilong and Yin Dehang finished eighth in floor exercise and pommel horse respectively on the same day.