INDIANAPOLIS. Indiana. Sept g: Soviet coach Alexander Alexandrov's last-minute sub stitutton paid dividends in the womens team compulsortes at the World Gymnastics Championships here Saturday, reports AFP.

Oksana Tchusovlttna. brought tn for Elena Groudneva, responded with the best individual performance of the three rounds — A combined score of 39.07 points to put the Soviets in command

Kerri Strug. with 38.886. and Hilary OrMch. 38.712. put the Americans second ahead of China's U Ylfang and Zhang Wenning.

France were provisional leaders of the team event but only because they had three gymnasts competing In the

first three rounds of the nine compulsory exercises.

They should fall to 10th, behind the Soviet Union, the United States. China. Romania. Bulgaria. Australia. Germany. Hungary and South Korea when these countries have completed their schedule.

Valeri Baienky, the 1990 world cup champion, led the Soviet men to an emphatic lewd over China and Japan at the halfway stage of the men's compulsortes.

Tchusovltlna, who scored 9.875 In the floor exercises, was given two hours to prepare for her unexpected display.

"At the last minute, thought Tchusovltlna was bet ter prepared than Groudneva. so I put her tn," Alexandrov sold American women's coach Bela Karolytn was more than pleased with h1s choice of, Grlvlch and Strug, the two youngest-members of the team

T hope that tomorrow we'll have another night like this one."he said." Tf we do, we’ll be very confident going Into the optlonals".

Grlvlch. the number five American gymnast, turned in particularly strong per for mances In the floor exercises and on the vault.

"I don’t usually stick my landings and I did thia time." she said The crowd helps a lot. I didn't know what to ex peet. but It went pretty well". Earlier report said Soviet may be breaking apart politically but its gymnasts appear as strong as ever, taking the early lead at the World Gymnastics

Championships on Saturday, reports Reuter.

The Soviet men, holding first and second place, totalled 173.175 points, a 1.95 edge over China.

The Soviet women, who also held on to first and second. scored 78.410. giving them a slim 1.812 lead over the United States.

Grigori Musutin, Valeri Belenki and Alexei Voropaev of the Soviet Union took the first, second and sixth Individual palces for the men after roughly half the men competed.

The other half of the men s field, generally the stronger half, will compete In compulsory exercises today - Despite his strong showing with 9 775 on both the floor exercise and parallel bars. Mtstutn was not satisfied with his performance.

It could have been better for me today," he said "1 made small mistakes, and I must not repeat that in the optional ex erclses."

In the men s competition, Japan held third palace followed by the United States. Germany and Romania

On the womens side, tradi-tional powers China. Romania and Bulgaria held their to fifth place.

Americans Kcri Strug and Hilary Grlvlch came third and fourth in a strong beginning for the US team.