The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar - Dutch star Epke Zonderland is on course of winning his second gold medal in Doha within a span of four months after he cruised into the final of horizontal bars, as the two-day qualifying rounds at FIG ART Individual Apparatus World Cup concluded yesterday.
Ukranian vault specialist Igor Radivilov and China’s Zou Jingyuan also displayed sparkling performances to storm into the finals yesterday, and the stage is now set for spectacular finals, which will see top gymnasts battling for supremacy in the next two days at Aspire Dome.
Zonderland, who won a horizontal bar gold medal at the World Championships in Doha last November, entered the final comfortably after scoring 14.100 points. The Dutchman finished behind Croatia’s Tin Sribic (14.333), Kazakhstan Milad Karimi (14.300) and Russia’s Alexey Rostov.
“It is good to be back in Doha,” Zonderland said after entering the finals yesterday.
“I have a lot of good memories by competing in this arena not only from the World Championships, but the recent World Cups as well. It is always a good organisation and as an athlete you know you can perform well, when the organisation is perfect. I was looking forward to coming here,” the Dutchman added.
Qatar’s Ahmed Mosa also featured in qualification and earned a creditable score of 12.066.
Meanwhile, Radivilov, the London Olympic medallist, once again proved why he is rated as one of the best in vault, as he wowed spectators with his clinical finishes to top the vault qualification with 14.916. The 26-year-old was followed by Korean Hakseon Yang and Artur Davtyan of Armenia.
History was also made in the men’s vault qualification when Abdulrahman Othman became the first Libyan gymnast to make his debut at the FIG World Cup.
“ I am very happy to represent my country Libya at this stage,” said Othman.
“It was a tough competition as leading gymnasts were participating for the finals but I will take back a useful experience which will benefit me in the future,” he said.
China’s reigning Asian Games champion Jingyuan also looked at his best as he outsmarted his opponents with a huge gap in the men’s parallel bars qualification, earning an impressive tally of 15.866. Vietnam’s Phuong Thanh Dinh, who finished second got 14.733 while Turkish star gained confidence in his bid to clinch medal by finishing third with 14.633 points.
Zonderland, however, failed to qualify for the final of the event after he finished 10th with a score of 13.966.
Derwael continues golden form
After topping the qualifications in uneven bars on Wednesday, world champion Nina Derwael scored maximum points in balance beam to remain favourite for two gold medals in Doha.
The Belgian star secured 13.566 points to finish ahead of Frenchwoman Marine Boyer (13.366) and China’s Qi Li (13.300).
In the meantime, American Jade Carey topped women’s floor qualification to keep her chances intact for another double victory in the World Cup series. After placing herself among the finalists on the Vault, Carey earned the top spot on the floor with 14.000.
Two Italians, Lara Mori and former world champion, Vanessa Ferrari will also compete in the final tomorrow.
Five gold medals to be decided today
Today, five gold medals will be awarded with finals scheduled for men’s floor, pommel horse and still rings. The women will compete on vault and uneven bars.
“The qualifications rounds have set the stage for interesting finals as top gymnasts will compete for the medals,” Qatar Gymnastics Federation President Ali Al Hitmi said.
“It is a strong start and we are happy as we look forward to hosting another successful edition of the World Cup,” he said.
“The gymnasts will definitely show good performances to bag medals which will make the next two days very interesting,” he added.