ROTTERDAM - Japan's Paris Olympics gold medalist Shinnosuke Oka settled for silver in the men's horizontal bar final on the last day of the artistic gymnastics world championships on Sunday.
The 22-year-old scored 14,800 in Rotterdam but was bettered by Taiwan's Tang Chia-hung, who posted 14.966 to win the title for the first time. Sergei Naidin of Russia was third and Japan's Shohei Kawakami came fourth.
"I was determined to get a medal at any cost after the frustration I had from (finishing eighth in) the individual all-around," Oka said. "I had a proper look at myself and was able to come into this thinking how I can succeed."
He amassed three golds in Paris after winning the event as well as the team title but finished without an individual title in the Netherlands after coming fifth in the parallel bars final also held on the day.
Zou Jingyuan of China logged 15.733 to win back-to-back and for the fifth time, with Illia Kovtun of Croatia (14.900) and Daniel Marinov of Russia (14.866) filling the podium.
"The movement (of Zou) was inhuman. I can't surpass him unless I train at an out-of-this-world level," Oka said.
Japan's Daiki Hashimoto, who won his fourth straight individual all-around worlds title here, came fourth on 14.600 in his 20th performance over the nine-day tournament.
"I was trying to do what I could. It was positive that I managed to get it right with my landing, which has been an issue," the 25-year-old said.
"My main event is individual all-around and I haven't got much appetite for the parallel bars medals, but I can add it to my strong points by honing my current performance. It was stimulating."
Japan won four medals overall after the men's team won gold and the women's team bronze earlier in the tournament, both booking their berths at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
