China's Olympic gold medalist Li Xiaopeng has been ruled out of the world gymnastic championships in October after having failed to recover from an ankle injury sustained almost a year ago.

 

Li, 27, who took gold in the parallel bars while leading China to gold in the men's team competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, broke his left ankle in national championships in October 2005. "He has recovered to about 50 or 60 percent, but as a gymnast, his ankle is still too weak to endure the impact of jumping and landing," his coach Chen Xiong said. "When can he compete? We need to wait until next year for a conclusion."

 

(Shanghai Daily August 9, 2006)