For China's gymnastics world champion Feng Jing, nothing is more important than a gold medal at Olympic Games.

"I think nothing, even the world title, can compare with the triumph in the Olympics,"said Feng. The 18-year-old Chinese boy became the youngest world all-round champion two years ago in the World Championships in Belgium.

"My ultimate goal is to grab an Olympic title. If I fail in Athens, maybe I can achieve it in the Beijing Olympics,"he said.

"But first of all, I have to scrape into the Chinese Olympic squad in order to participate in the Athens Olympic Games next year,"said Feng, who is here to compete in the second Asian Gymnastics Championships.

"Since there are so many excellent gymnasts in the Chinese team, I will be faced with fierce competitions from my teammates," said Feng who was called up into the national team in 1999.

Li Xiaopeng, anchorman of the team, is believed to most probably clinch a spot in the Olympic lineup while up-and-coming 18-year-old Teng Haibin and all-rounder Yang Wei are other favorites for the Athens trip.

Plague of injuries

After a glorious 2001, Feng continued his feat to take the national team crown as well as the Busan Asian team title in 2002. But low form and recurrent injuries kept Feng silent this year.

"I suffered injuries this year, which made my form slip down," said Feng, who has been plagued by the recurrent dislocation of his shoulder.

"It happens so often that even certain gestures in sleep can make my joint half-dislocated," he said.

"I almost become a doctor myself as I have learned how to put it back," said Feng half-jokingly.

More badly, Feng tore the ligament of his finger during training early this year, which, although did not interrupt his training, indeed bothered him a long time.

"I kept training but not on a regular basis till before the world championships,"said Feng, who was listed in the roster but sat out all the competitions at the World Championships in August in Anaheim, the United States, where China topped the medal table with five golds in the men's team, men's vault and parallel bars and pommel horse as well as women's beam.

"But in the past two months, I have been feeling better each day,"Feng added.

Striving to return to peak

"Feng reached his peak at the 2001 worlds, and now he is again coming back to the top of his form after recovering from injuries, "said Chinese team coach Jin Weiguo. "It is natural for athletes to have ups and downs in their form and Feng is no exception."

"But I believe he will become as good as he was two years ago with further rehabilitation and more training,"added Jin.

Feng agreed with his coach and knew exactly what he should do to achieve his goals.

"Without more hard training I am sure to be left out of the Olympic squad,"said Feng, knowing that his past fame helps little in the selection.

"I need to learn moves with higher difficulty degree and modify others to make them standard," he said. "I expect my form gradually goes back to the peak and I think I can make it."

Young and happy

"The Athens Olympics is very important to me, but if I miss it, I think I can still have the chance to redeem in Beijing in 2008," said a smiling Feng, whose good look and accessibility won him the most popularity here.

"After all I am still young, and there are a lot of opportunities in the future to prove myself,"he added.

"For another thing, I am born a happy person. So I won't be too pressured and nervous no matter what kind of competitions I am in, even at the worlds,"said the pleasantly talkative gymnast.

"Look, I have found another advantage of me,"he said. "So I am all confident."

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