JAKARTA (Kyodo) -- Japan's Aiko Sugihara won the women's floor exercise gold at the artistic gymnastics world championships on Saturday after taking bronze on the beam.

The 26-year-old veteran scored 13.833 points in the floor exercise final in Jakarta and topped the podium filled by runner-up Ruby Evans and third-place Abigail Martin, both of Britain.

A two-time Olympian from Osaka Prefecture, Sugihara retired from top-level competition in 2022 but returned the following year, placing seventh in the all-around this week.

"I hadn't thought about becoming the world champion. I'm both surprised and happy," said Sugihara, who spent time as a coach, referee and reporter during her spell away and now runs her own company to promote the sport.

Sugihara, making her first appearance at the worlds in six years and the fifth time overall, became the second floor exercise winner from Japan after 2017 and 2021 champion Mai Murakami.

She earlier came third in the beam for her first podium finish at the worlds after logging 14.166, behind Chinese winner Zhan Qingying's 15.166 and Algerian runner-up Kaylia Nemour's 14.300.

"There was that sense of safety from having already won the (beam bronze) medal," she said after the floor gold. "I was in the zone and managed to really enjoy performing. That got me this result."

There were also two Japanese silver medalists on the day, with Daiki Hashimoto, who won his third straight all-around title, finishing second on the horizontal bar, and worlds debutant Tomoharu Tsunogai taking silver on the parallel bars.

Brody Malone of the United States won the horizontal bar on 14.933, above Hashimoto's 14.733 and Briton Joe Fraser's 14.700.

Zou Jingyuan of China won the parallel bars on 15.300 as Tsunogai scored 14.500, and Daniel Marinov from Russia came third on 14.466.

Japan's Shinnosuke Oka, who won three golds at the Paris Olympics, came seventh in the parallel bars to end his debut worlds appearance without a medal.

Gymnastics: Sugihara wins floor gold, beam bronze for 1st worlds' podiums