Britain stun China in men’s gymnastics qualifying

Britain's men's team upset defending Olympic and world champion to take the early lead in qualifying.

Written by Agencies
London | July 28, 2012 05:38 PM IST

1 min read

Britain’s men’s gymnastics team kicked off the London Olympics in a big way Saturday,upsetting defending Olympic and world champion China to take the early lead in qualifying.

Louis Smith’s spectacular pommel horse routine capped off an outstanding day for the British,who have their first full team at an Olympics since 1992. His 15.8 gave Britain a total of 272.420,almost 2.5 points ahead of China (269.985). When the final standings were flashed on the scoreboard,the crowd at the O2 Arena roared and Smith,the team captain,slapped hands with Sam Oldham.