YANG Hak-seon triumphed in the men\u2019s vault final to hand South Korea their first ever Olympic gold medal in artistic gymnastics yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hak-seon, 19, averaged 16.533 points with his two vaults to leave Russia\u2019s Denis Ablyazin with the silver medal and Igor Radivilov of Ukraine with bronze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t actually believe what\u2019s happening to me at the moment,\u201d said Yang.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had a gold medal in Olympic gymnastics before and the training didn\u2019t go very well, so I was nervous. But I\u2019m happy that I got over that and won the gold medal.\u201d<\/p>\n
China\u2019s gymnastics captain Chen Yibing kissed his silver medal and beamed at the crowd but admitted to feeling short-changed by the judges when he was pipped by Brazil\u2019s Arthur Zanetti for the rings gold in his final Olympic Games yesterday.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Yibing, a three-time Olympic champion dubbed the \u201cKing of Rings\u201d by adoring Chinese fans, appeared to have the title sewn up after a strong performance and a solid landing.<\/p>\n
He was stunned, however, when the Brazilian, the last competitor to take the rings, scored 15.900 to pip him by 0.1 of a point, despite taking a step back on his landing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still good, it\u2019s a silver medal,\u201d said the amiable Yibing with a laugh.<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s event, Russia\u2019s Aliya Mustafina made up for the disappointment of missing out on the individual all-around gold medal by claiming victory in the uneven bars final.<\/p>\n
The 2010 world champion finished ahead of defending champion He Kexin of China, with Great Britain\u2019s Beth Tweddle claiming a crowd-pleasing bronze medal.<\/p>\n