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Vinay Nayudu
Doha
Three days shy of being nineteen, Nina Derwael of Belgium has always relished coming to Doha for gymnastic competitions as each of her visits as a teen athlete have fetched her gold medals. An action-packed Friday at the Aspire Dome was no different as the petite gymnast wowed the holiday crowd with another mesmerising golden show on the Uneven Bars at the 12th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup.
This was also the young gymnast’s first competition since she claimed gold at the World Championships here in October last year.
A hiatus of almost five months didn’t seem to have affected her as the 2018 World and two-time European champion on the Uneven Bars proved why she is one.
Just like during the qualifications, Derwael was fluid and flawless logging the most points even as others tried to catch up hard.
Beginning with a full twisting double tuck and finishing with a twist high above the bar, Derwael logged a whopping 15.033 points, the same score she achieved at the qualifying two days ago.
Delighted with her show Derwael simply couldn’t stop smiling. A finger injury had kept her away for a while but that seemed forgotten.
“I did not have an ideal preparation for the competition but I am very happy that I pulled it off. I had some little injuries that prevented me from doing other competitions. But now I am really happy to be back on the podium,” she beamed.
“I wasn’t really anxious I was comfortable out there and I knew I could do it. I just did what I usually do in training,” she added.
On Aspire Dome being one of her favourite venues, Derwael said, “I am really happy to be back here, I have won gold thrice now in Doha.”
Aiming to make it to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, Derwael aims to continue her form at the European Championships next month.
“I am going to prepare for the European championship now. I am very excited about Tokyo Olympics. The Belgium team still need to qualify as a team so we are going to do try and do that at the World Championship in Stuttgart this year,” she said.
But before that, she will be back for another shot at the gold medal in the Balance Beam finals on Saturday.
Derwael’s swing to the top of the podium saw 2017 World champion Fan Yilin of China (14.933) settle for the silver, while Russian Anastasiia Iliankova (14.700) took bronze.
In the women’s vault apparatus, American Jade Carey kept her dominance ensuring a gold medal finish.
The 18-year-old, who had clinched both Vault and Floor golds at the Baku World Cup last week, was on top once again with a perfect landing. She tallied 14.833 points, ahead of Russian Maria Paseka (14.766) and Frenchwoman Coline Devillard (14.549).
The win takes Carey’s World Cup series ranking points to 85, putting her first in the Vault race for Olympics qualifications.
“I think it was a really good performance”, said Carey.
“It is cool to be in Doha, after missing last year’s World Championships. I am happy that I made both vaults, especially the first one, because it is the first time I have tried it in competition. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s final on the floor”.
Uzbekistan’s 43-year-old Oksana Chusovitina, who is aiming for her her eighth Olympic appearance, finished fifth with 13.866 points.
In equally enthralling men’s action, Lee Chih-Kai overcame nerves as he worked his way to win the Pommel Horse gold. The World bronze medalist from Chinese Taipei gymnast beat 2013 world champion Kohei Kameyama of Japan to gold, after both finished on same score of 15.400.
Chih-Kai’s superior difficulty score saw him edge the Japanese. Kameyama’s compatriot Imabayashi took bronze with a total of 15.333.
The men’s Floor Exercise, Filipino Carlos Yulo’s hopes of a claiming gold were dashed in a strong field. The world championship bronze medallist, however, still came good ensuring a bronze with a score of 14.266.
Rayderley Zapata of Spain was a surprise runner-up with 14.433. The evening’s last action was the Still Rings where China’s Xingyu Lan kept his poise with a strong show that saw him claim gold having logged 15.100 points.
Armenia’s Artur Tovmasyan and Vahagn Davtyan took the silver and bronze respectively.
Saturday’s action will see the women’s Balance Beam and Floor finals, while it will be Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar for the men.
Doha
Three days shy of being nineteen, Nina Derwael of Belgium has always relished coming to Doha for gymnastic competitions as each of her visits as a teen athlete have fetched her gold medals. An action-packed Friday at the Aspire Dome was no different as the petite gymnast wowed the holiday crowd with another mesmerising golden show on the Uneven Bars at the 12th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup.
This was also the young gymnast’s first competition since she claimed gold at the World Championships here in October last year.
A hiatus of almost five months didn’t seem to have affected her as the 2018 World and two-time European champion on the Uneven Bars proved why she is one.
Just like during the qualifications, Derwael was fluid and flawless logging the most points even as others tried to catch up hard.
Beginning with a full twisting double tuck and finishing with a twist high above the bar, Derwael logged a whopping 15.033 points, the same score she achieved at the qualifying two days ago.
Delighted with her show Derwael simply couldn’t stop smiling. A finger injury had kept her away for a while but that seemed forgotten.
“I did not have an ideal preparation for the competition but I am very happy that I pulled it off. I had some little injuries that prevented me from doing other competitions. But now I am really happy to be back on the podium,” she beamed.
“I wasn’t really anxious I was comfortable out there and I knew I could do it. I just did what I usually do in training,” she added.
On Aspire Dome being one of her favourite venues, Derwael said, “I am really happy to be back here, I have won gold thrice now in Doha.”
Aiming to make it to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, Derwael aims to continue her form at the European Championships next month.
“I am going to prepare for the European championship now. I am very excited about Tokyo Olympics. The Belgium team still need to qualify as a team so we are going to do try and do that at the World Championship in Stuttgart this year,” she said.
But before that, she will be back for another shot at the gold medal in the Balance Beam finals on Saturday.
Derwael’s swing to the top of the podium saw 2017 World champion Fan Yilin of China (14.933) settle for the silver, while Russian Anastasiia Iliankova (14.700) took bronze.
In the women’s vault apparatus, American Jade Carey kept her dominance ensuring a gold medal finish.
The 18-year-old, who had clinched both Vault and Floor golds at the Baku World Cup last week, was on top once again with a perfect landing. She tallied 14.833 points, ahead of Russian Maria Paseka (14.766) and Frenchwoman Coline Devillard (14.549).
The win takes Carey’s World Cup series ranking points to 85, putting her first in the Vault race for Olympics qualifications.
“I think it was a really good performance”, said Carey.
“It is cool to be in Doha, after missing last year’s World Championships. I am happy that I made both vaults, especially the first one, because it is the first time I have tried it in competition. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s final on the floor”.
Uzbekistan’s 43-year-old Oksana Chusovitina, who is aiming for her her eighth Olympic appearance, finished fifth with 13.866 points.
In equally enthralling men’s action, Lee Chih-Kai overcame nerves as he worked his way to win the Pommel Horse gold. The World bronze medalist from Chinese Taipei gymnast beat 2013 world champion Kohei Kameyama of Japan to gold, after both finished on same score of 15.400.
Chih-Kai’s superior difficulty score saw him edge the Japanese. Kameyama’s compatriot Imabayashi took bronze with a total of 15.333.
The men’s Floor Exercise, Filipino Carlos Yulo’s hopes of a claiming gold were dashed in a strong field. The world championship bronze medallist, however, still came good ensuring a bronze with a score of 14.266.
Rayderley Zapata of Spain was a surprise runner-up with 14.433. The evening’s last action was the Still Rings where China’s Xingyu Lan kept his poise with a strong show that saw him claim gold having logged 15.100 points.
Armenia’s Artur Tovmasyan and Vahagn Davtyan took the silver and bronze respectively.
Saturday’s action will see the women’s Balance Beam and Floor finals, while it will be Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar for the men.
