PETALING JAYA: The national back-up rhythmic gymnasts pulled off an impressive four gold, three silver and two bronze haul from the recent Hibiscus Cup in Okinawa, Japan. |
Competing in the junior category, each gymnast competed in two events and national champion Olivia Tai Qing Tong picked up the gold in the clubs event while Chong Lok Yi clinched the bronze.
In the ribbon event, it was an all-Malaysian affair with Lok Yi takiing the gold. Olivia finished second while Shak Yuki was placed third.
Koh Sei Yan, the other Malaysian gymnast, finished sixth and fourth in the clubs and ribbon respectively.
Also competing in Okinawa was pre-junior Amisha Sofia Azli. The 12-year-old won gold in the ball and clubs while Nur Naime Zainul Ariffin finished second in both events.
National development squad coach Lidia Legotina was pleased with the gymnasts' overall performances but rued the lack of cleaner routines.
"Some of them performed well but there were some glaring mistakes. Lok Yi did very well but Yuki made two drops (of the apparatus). Sei Yan did badly in the clubs but had a good start in the ribbon. We cannot stress enough the need for the routines to be mistake-free, no drops. Every mistake comes at a cost," she said.
"But we have some time to work on getting the routines tighter and to bring all the elements together – stability, expression and presentation. They have one last competition, the Miss Valentine 2014 in Tartu, Estonia, from Feb 7-9 before competing in the Junior Asian Championships. Hopefully, we can achieve more success in Tartu," added Legotina.
Malaysia will host the Junior Asian Championships, which is a qualifying competition for the second Youth Olympic Games, at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Feb 21-24.
Olivia, Yuki, Sie Yan and Shasangari Sivaneswary Nagarajan, who was forced to miss the Hibiscus Cup after suffering a muscle pull, will be looking to earn their spots at the Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug 16-26.
At the inaugural Games in Singapore in 2010, Malaysia missed out on a medal after Lee Wan Nin, who has since retired, finished fourth in the all-around individual final.
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