Zhang Wins Asian Games All-Around Title

Zhang Boheng won the all-around competition at the 2023 Asian Games, finishing with a final score of 89.299, a 2.267-point lead over Japan’s Kitazono Takeru and 4.334 over Lan Xingyu. His 89.299, which is the highest men’s all-around score this year, edged out Hashimoto Daiki’s 88.698 from the FISU Summer University Games. 

When asked about his goals for the Asian Games, Zhang mentioned how he hoped to score at least an 88.0 in the all-around. “I don’t really think about the medals,” Zhang said. “My goal is to get an 89.0, even if it isn’t the gold medal score. I will still be happy.” Zhang says the ultimate goal is the Paris 2024 Olympics and sees a successful Asian Games as an indicator of how next year might play out. “Leading up to the Olympics, these Asian Games are a very valuable preparation meet. I hope we can all experience it and not think too much about the results, but think more about using this meet to model the pressure the Olympics may bring next year.”

After being left off the Tokyo Olympic squad rather controversially, Zhang Boheng says at that time he wasn’t too disappointed. “To be honest, I was not too disappointed about missing the Tokyo Games because at that time I had almost no experience at large international competitions. If I had suddenly gone I think there would have been some uncertainties.”  

2021 was considered Zhang’s breakout year, after defeating the reigning Olympic all-around Champion, Hashimoto Daiki, at 2021 Worlds. The rivalry between the two was heating up for 2022 Worlds where Zhang and Hashimoto went head-to-head in a battle for the title. Hashimoto ended up taking the title, edging Zhang out by 0.433. Zhang mentioned how at that Worlds he was riddled with injuries. The team doctor even performed bloodletting treatments on Zhang to reduce swelling. 

At the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu, Zhang and Hashimoto were expected to battle for the title once again. However, after an injury on pommel horse, Hashimoto had to withdraw from the competition early. Zhang expressed his sympathy for Hashimoto’s withdrawal from the competition. “When I compete with him [Hashimoto], the meet is more intense and more exciting. It also helps me improve as a competitor. I was really worried about him. After all, we were only on the second event,” Zhang said. “The moment he said he was going to withdraw, I felt very sorry. I was still checking to see if Hashimoto was there after the competition, but it seems he had already left to go rest.”

Zhang Boheng credits Hashimoto as one of his main motivators to continue improving at each competition. “I really admire him; he’s genuinely strong. At the same time, I think having a competitor like Daiki Hashimoto is actually a good thing. It keeps my training and competitions from becoming boring and pushes me to better grasp every detail.”

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