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Britain's Rebecca Wing is keeping her fingers crossed after her overall routine put her fifth with three sessions to go of women's qualifying at the World Gymnastics Championships.

The 17-year old showed maturity beyond her years in a consistent performance which left her fifth overall after session two, while China's Deng Linlin currently leads.

The Farnborough-based teenager started with a bang, scoring 13.25 on the floor before making up for a slightly shaky vault with strong showings in the bars and beam to finish on 53.875 - less than 2.5 points behind Deng.

And although Wing admitted her final berth was not yet set in stone, the youngster insists she has a fighting chance of finishing in the top 24 to qualify for Friday's all-round final.

"I'm really happy with how I did," said Wing. "There are a lot of good girls left but I've given myself a good chance of making the final, which was my goal for the weekend.

"I started really well on the floor - that was one of my best routines - and then, apart from stepping of the mat quickly, my vault was good.

"My bars routine went really smoothly that was really pleasing as well. I made a couple of mistakes on the beam but overall I can't be disappointed.

"I knew I had nothing to lose so I just went out there and gave it my all - hopefully I'll get the chance to do it again on Friday."

As the first Brit to compete on Thursday, Wing was greeted by thunderous cheers as she stepped out onto the floor for her first routine.

And despite competing at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart and last year's Beijing Olympics, she insists the boisterous atmosphere in the O2 Arena - set to be the gymnastics venue for the 2012 Olympics - was a huge surprise.

"It's an absolutely amazing atmosphere," said Wing. "I was expecting it to be good but nothing like it actually was.

"The fans here are really getting behind the British athletes and it's brilliant to have them cheer you on.

"I was a bit nervous being the first British competitor and I guess performing at home adds to the pressure a little bit but mainly it just inspires you.

"For me, it was pretty close to the atmosphere in Beijing last year - hopefully the crowd can keep it up for the finals over the next few days as well."

More than the Games / Eurosport