GYMNAST HASHIMOTO ALMOST LOST FAITH

Star helps Japan snatch gold after difficult months of doubt, injury as China stumble

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Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Daiki Hashimoto had been on an emotional roller coaster for months, but thankfully it all ended well for him as Japan edged out China in a nail-biting men’s team final at the Paris Olympics on July 29.

Back in May, injury had forced him to suddenly pull out of the NHK Trophy – the sport’s marquee tournament in Japan – which he hoped would be his chance to dress-rehearse his routines ahead of Paris.

Still nursing a far-from-healed finger injury, he joined other Olympic-bound athletes at the team’s training camp, even though he wondered whether he would be able to lead the five-man team to the gold medal that his nation expected.

“I was starting to lose confidence,” the 22-year-old said on July 29. “When the camp ended, I still couldn’t visualise how I was going to win that gold.”

That sense of doubt seemed to have disappeared on July 27, when Hashimoto stepped into the Bercy Arena in Paris, beaming and waving to the adoring fans.

But his confidence was short-lived.

On the high bar, the Japanese botched his dismount by landing on his hands and feet, dashing his chance of reaching the final to defend the title in the apparatus.