China's Zhang defends men's all-around gymnastics title

China's Zhang Boheng retained the men's all-around gymnastics title at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday.

Fresh from winning the event at the Asian Championships, the 26-year-old collected 85.065 points to take gold, while Japan's Shinnosuke Oka and Daiki Hashimoto finished second and third, respectively.

Gold medalist Zhang Boheng of China poses after the awarding ceremony for the men's all-around of Artistic Gymnastics at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Nagoya, Japan, Sept. 21, 2026. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

Hashimoto, the Tokyo Olympic all-around champion, made a strong start with 14.500 points on pommel horse, while Zhang opened with 13.800 on floor exercise.

Oka's consistent performance kept the battle for gold close. The reigning Olympic all-around champion moved ahead of Zhang and Hashimoto after scoring 14.633 on parallel bars in the fourth rotation.

Zhang responded with 14.700 on the same apparatus in the fifth rotation, taking a narrow 0.167-point lead over Oka into the final round.

With Zhang competing on horizontal bar and Oka and Hashimoto on floor exercise, the title remained up for grabs. Zhang scored 14.033 to secure his second consecutive Asian Games all-around title, while Oka finished with 13.833 on floor to take silver and Hashimoto's 13.433 left him with bronze.

Zhang said competing last on horizontal bar allowed him to adjust his routine based on his rivals' scores. After watching Oka and Hashimoto complete their floor routines, he opted to reduce the difficulty of his routine and lower the risk of errors.

"Gymnastics keeps progressing, and both Japanese all-around gymnasts have high levels in difficulty and execution," Zhang said.

Looking ahead to the 2028 Olympics, Zhang said he needed to develop a broader range of difficult skills and improve his competitive mindset as he aims to deliver a stronger overall performance.

The all-around competition also served as qualification for the team and apparatus finals. China topped the team standings with 255.361 points, ahead of Japan on 254.460, setting up another close contest between the two traditional powers. South Korea qualified third with 238.327.

The women's all-around competition will take place Tuesday, followed by the men's and women's team finals Wednesday.