Heartbreaking moment Chinese gymnast sits away from team-mates after costing Olympic gold | Other | Sport

Chinese gymnast Su Weide was visibly distraught after making two costly mistakes in a hugely dramatic men’s team final at the Olympics. China were nailed on for the gold medal at the Bercy Arena until Su’s disastrous routine on the horizontal bar saw their hopes slip away.

The 24-year-old almost missed the bar early on before falling twice in quick succession, prompting a series of horrified gasps from the crowd. He looked devastated as he finished his routine before taking a seat well away from his team-mates and coaches.

Su was docked two points, one for each mistake, which proved costly as China ended up finishing narrowly behind Japan in the battle for the gold medal. The bronze medal went to the United States, with Team GB missing out in fourth despite putting up a strong fight.

Pick up your ultimate guide to the Olympics! Going for Gold provides the day-by-day rundown of what’s on and when. Click here to buy.

Reacting to Su’s mistakes, BBC commentator Matt Baker said: “China had a buffer but it wasn’t big enough. That poor lad there. Three big deductions. What a shame for him. This is a brutal format, sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Gymnastics expert Christine Still added: “It just shows what the pressure is for everyone here. There was a slight moment at the start where Su Weide almost put his hand on the bar incorrectly.

“He did the very difficult moves but he did not get the grip twice and he fell. That could be really quite costly for China. Such drama here. This is true sport at its very best, so unpredictable.”

Beth Tweddle, who won the bronze medal for Team GB on the uneven bars in 2012, said: “The first fall was so uncharacteristic. Once you fall you’ve got to pick yourself back up. He did look like he twisted his knee a bit, but from the get go he looked very unsettled.”

Britain’s gymnasts had an outside chance of winning the gold medal but were forced to settle for fourth place in spite of their best efforts. They were pipped to a top-three finish by the USA, who delivered when it mattered to claim the final spot on the podium.

Speaking after the results were made official, Tweddle added: “Team GB can be very proud of themselves. It is 18 routines that we are asking for, which is tough. It was not down to one error. They were a couple of marks behind in the end.

“It was always going to be a tough challenge to get a medal and they have still got lots of individual [events] and the women’s final to come.”