Team China dominated the podium with a gold and silver in the men’s artistic gymnastics rings final on Sunday at the Bercy Arena in Paris.

Liu Yang, who is the reigning Olympic champion in this event, earned a score of 15.300 with a difficulty of 6.400 and an executive score of 8.900 to land him the gold. The 29-year-old executed his movements with precision and stability, with just a small step and lean forward during the landing.

His Chinese counterpart Zou Jingyuan, who is dubbed the king of parallel bars, came behind with a score of 15.233, while Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece, who also won the bronze in this event at the Tokyo Games, completed the podium with an overall score of 15.100.

Liu said afterwards he was glad he was able to defend his Olympic crown, but he felt his performance "wasn't perfect enough".

"Compared to Tokyo, psychologically and experience wise, I'm now more mature. But physically, I have had a lot more injuries and issues, and so this time, it's mainly about overcoming physical problems," he told reporters from Hong Kong.

Liu added that he wanted to thank his family and the motherland for their support, while saying the gymnastics team had been united despite some regrets at the Olympics.

The men's gymnasts won the silver in the team event, after a slip up in the last round saw Japan leapfrog them for gold.