Two-time Olympic gymnastics champion Li Xiaoshuang blames the coaching staff of the Chinese national gymnastics team.
The country's men's team failed to claim a silver medal at the Paris Olympics this week and eventually won the silver medal.
Li believed that athletes should not be solely responsible for the team's shortcomings at the Summer Games.
“Our coaching team has problems. Let's not put all the responsibility on the athletes. If they failed, the coaches did something wrong,” Li, 50, said in an online livestream circulated on Chinese social media, according to Reuters.
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China wins silver in the men's team final during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on July 29, 2024. (James Lang-USA Today Sports)
Li also called for a fundamental change in the country's approach to sport.
“Our athletes are too old. Sport needs young people. We really need to change the way we train and select athletes,” he said.
The average age of the five Chinese gymnasts who traveled to Paris is 26.2 years old.
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Li first won Olympic gold in the floor competition at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and again in the all-around competition at the 1992 Summer Games in Atlanta.
Xiao Ruoteng, 28, and Su Weide, 24, made some critical mistakes in the final rotation of the all-around. The errors proved costly, as the Chinese saw their three-point lead over Japan evaporate after the first five apparatus.
Li Xiaoshuang performs at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, July 24, 1996. (Tony Duffy/Allsport)
Li said he had a painful experience watching the Chinese team compete at the Olympics.
“After watching the competition, I felt very sad. It was really painful. Good soldiers need a good general. China has a great gymnastics team, but we lack leadership and that is a problem,” Li said.
Men's gymnastics qualification highlights during the Olympic Games at Bercy Arena in Paris on July 27, 2024.
“Su got the job at the last minute and barely had any training. We don't have anyone who is 18, 19 or 20 years old. How are we going to make it to the next Olympics?” asked Li, who was 18 when she won her first Olympic gold medal.
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Li argued that his country has failed to produce gymnasts who can compete at a high level on vault since Cheng Fei, who won gold in the women's team event at the Olympics 16 years ago.
“We are good on beam and not so bad on uneven bars, but how can our vault be unacceptable? The routines have not changed since 1992,” Li said.
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