Sawt Falasteen - Hashimoto's Japan face Chinese threat at Paris Olympics

Hashimoto, 22, opens his all-around title defence starting with men's qualifying on Saturday, with the team final on Monday. The individual all-around final takes place on Wednesday.

Reigning champions Russia are not competing, with Tokyo Games silver medallists Japan, the current world champions, favourites ahead of China, who took bronze three years ago.

Hashimoto will be joined by the experienced Kazuma Kaya and Wataru Tanigawa, as well as newcomers Shinnosuke Oka and Takaaki Sugino, as they try to claim the team title for Japan for an eighth time.

"China's strength lies in scoring well in events like the parallel bars and rings," Hashimoto told journalists at the Bercy Arena.

"Japan, however, has many consistent athletes and explosive performers. The selection process for the team was extremely competitive, perhaps the toughest in the world.

"This has been great for the team."

The two-time all-around world champion warned that Japan and China should be wary with the United States, Britain and Ukraine all in the running for the podium.

"It's not only Japanese and Chinese athletes who are competing. Other countries are here too," he said.

Hashimoto aims to match countryman Kohei Uchimura by retaining all-around gold, and keep it in Japanese hands for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Games.

Zhang Boheng beat Hashimoto to the world title in 2021, and will spearhead the Chinese challenge along with 2017 world champion Xiao Ruoteng.

The Chinese team also includes world and Olympic rings gold medallist Liu Yang and Olympic parallel bars champion Zou Jingyuan.

"All of us in Team China are prioritising the team event," said Xiao.

"I suffered a severe shoulder injury before coming to Paris, so I need to reserve more strength for the team competition.

"We have prepared as a team with many outstanding members, including two Olympic champions and three world champions.

"The strengths and weaknesses are fairly balanced. The Japanese team is younger and may have better stamina, but we have more experience."

- 'More consistent' -

The United States have not won an Olympic men's team gymnastics medal since pocketing bronze in 2008, and finished fifth in Tokyo.

"Fifth place (left) a pretty bad taste in our mouth," said Brody Malone, returning from injury for the US in a team that includes last year's world all-around bronze medallist Frederick Richard.

"Over the past three years we've seen our difficulty increase dramatically.

"It's been getting more and more consistent, and we're in a very good place to be competitive with those top teams."

Britain's Joe Fraser is also back from injury in a team that includes two-time defending Olympic pommel horse champion Max Whitlock, and vault world champion Jake Jarman.

Hashimoto became the youngest men's all-around champion in Olympic history when he took gold aged 19 at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Games three years ago.

He also triumphed in the horizontal bar event.

Despite fitness doubts with finger and shoulder issues, Hashimoto had a "good practice" at the Bercy Arena midweek.

"I'm not worried about it. I'm just taking care not to injure any other parts of my body.

"Let's say I'm 100 percent," he said.

"I'm focused a lot on the horizontal bar, wanting to perfect it. I believe that mastering this apparatus is crucial for both team and individual gold.

"It's going to be my first Olympics where I'm competing in front of fans, and also my first overseas.

"It's my second Olympics but really it feels like my first."

Ukraine's Illia Kovtun was second at the worlds behind Hashimoto.

The individual apparatus finals are spread over three days from August 3.

Whitlock is bidding for an unprecedented record fourth medal on the same apparatus with Ireland's Rhys McClenaghan the reigning world champion on the pommel horse.

Israel's Artem Dolgopyat will bid to defend his floor title.

B.Khalifa--SF-PST