US teen Morgan Hurd, Japan’s Murakami and Uzbek Oksana to light up women’s qualifications
Vinay Nayudu
DOHA
Even if you aren't an avid gymnastics follower but a sports enthusiast, there's a solid reason for you to be at the Aspire Dome on Saturday evening. Be assured you won't be disappointed.
For superstar Simone Biles shall swing into action at the 48th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 and she's among those few who can make you get goose pimples by the sheer delight of her sizzling performances.
The 21-year-old Biles, who took a break from the sport since the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and recently been battling an abuse scandal within USA Gymnastics, will hit international competition for the first time in what is incidentally also the first World Championships of the Middle East in Doha. It will be the first of two days of women's qualifications.
Biles, who won four golds at the Rio Games, will attempt to regain the all-around title she won at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Worlds. To do so she will need to overtake her 17-year-old team-mate Morgan Hurd, the 2017 world all-around champion. But being a sport that she is, Biles has been playing down any suggestion of her challenging Hurd though she perhaps would once in the competition.
Also someone who tweets to speak, Biles expressed her eagerness to be back in the thick of action saying,"Can't wait to compete with Team USA for World Championships starting tomorrow!"
Earlier this week after one of her podium training sessions, she had said,"I think our team as a whole will shine a lot of light at this competition and hopefully we'll bring back some medals."
Hurd is growing as a serious contender, and she with Biles is expected to lead USA to their fourth consecutive world team title.
Also competing in Saturday's qualifications will be the Japanese women's team. Leading Japan's challenge will be the strong legged Mai Murakami, who won gold on floor exercise and placed fourth all-around at the 2017 Worlds in Montreal (Canada).
Uzbekistan's 43-year-old Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, a seven-time Olympian, will also be in action on Saturday. Women's qualifications will consist of six subdivisions on Saturday and five subdivisions on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the men's qualifications concluded on Friday. Based on their performances in qualifications, competitors will advance to team, individual all-around and individual apparatus finals.
The competition will determine the winners of eight sets of medals for men (Team, All-around, Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar) and six for women (Team, All-around, Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise).
The three medal-winning nations in the Team finals for both men and women will earn team berths directly to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo while the others will have further chances to qualify in 2019 and 2020.
(Inputs Worldgymdoha2018.com)