NANNING, China, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Zhejiang retained its women's team title with a solid performance against archrival Guangdong at the 2025 National Gymnastics Championships here on Sunday.

Guangdong had beaten Zhejiang by more than two points in the qualification stage but paid the price for inexperience in the final. Ke Qinqin fell twice from the uneven bars, and Huang Ziyi made errors on both the balance beam and floor exercise.

"My teammates are very young and talented. I knew how hard it was like when you made the debut on the national championships," said Ou Yushan, the most senior competitor from Guangdong. "Each flower needs its own time to bloom."

Zhejiang overtook Guangdong in the final round with an all-clear performance, finishing with a total of 210.828 points. Guangdong trailed by 0.700 points.

"We are always aware of how much capabilities we've got. So we never doubt about ourselves," said Zhang Qingying, the captain of Zhejiang. "We were just so happy to meet with our friends like Ou Yushan here and enjoyed the final."

Henan, a dark horse, finished third. "Today we made history for women's gymnastics of Henan," said Liu Jinru of Henan.

This year's championships also served as a qualifier for the National Games, with the top 12 teams earning berths in the women's team event. Shanghai, Hubei, Fujian, Hunan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Beijing, Guizhou and Guangxi will join Zhejiang, Guangdong and Henan at the National Games, which will take place from Nov. 9-21 in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Enditem