Gymnastics-China's Huang to miss world championships

BEIJING, Oct 10 (Reuters) China's Olympic gold medalist Huang Xu has been ruled out of this week's world championships in Denmark with a chest injury, depleting an injury-ravaged men's team further, state media reported today.

Huang, a member of China's gold medal-winning men's team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, had failed to recover from a strained chest muscle sustained during training, team manager Zhang Peiwen told the Beijing Youth Daily.

''Huang Xu's main items at this world championships were the rings and the parallel bars, and such an injury has a serious impact on these items,'' Zhang said.

''We have already confirmed that his condition is not suited to competing.'' 21-year-old Feng Jing, individual all-around gold medalist at the 2001 world championships, will replace Huang in a team already robbed of Olympic champions Li Xiaopeng and Teng Haibin through injury.

''Feng Jing is an all-around competitor, and is quite capable in the rings and the parallel bars, so having him come is quite suitable,'' he said.

Zhang added that Huang could recover in time for the Asian Games in Doha in December.

China's men took gold at the 2003 world championships, but finished fifth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Reuters AY GC1300