Qatari gymnast Ahmed Al Dayani in action during the men's Pommel Horse competition of the 10th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup at the Aspire Dome yesterday. Picture: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Top stars including Krisztian Berki, Oksana Chusovitina and Emily Little got off to a flying start as they entered the finals of their respective competitions on the opening day of the 10th FIG Artistic World Cup which got under way at the Aspire Dome in Doha.
The 2012 London Games gold medalist Berki topped qualification round for the men’s pommel horse final as the Hungarian collected 14,833 points with China’s Jingyuan Zou finishing second with 14,433 points. Croatia’s Filipe UDE was third with a card of 13,800 points.
China’s Ruoteng Xiao, Artur Davtyan (Armenia), Robert Tvorogal (Lithuania), Kilchi Takenaka (Japan), Ferhat Arican (Turkey) also qualified for the final.
However, it was a tough day for the hosts as Qatar’s Ahmed Al Dayani failed to qualify for the final after finishing 23rd with 11,600 points.
Al Dayani, though may be seen in action in the final as a wild card entrant with a decision expected after qualification round, according to an organiser.
Meanwhile, as expected, an intriguing action was witnessed in the women’s vault qualification which saw star-studded line-up in action.
It was Rio bronze medalist Yan Wang of China who topped the contest with a tally of 14,566 points.
Uzbek veteran Chusovitina took the second spot as the 41-year-old earned 14.249 points to finish ahead of Aussie Olympian Emily who finished third after registering 14, 100 points.
Teja Belak (Slovenia), Tjasa Kysselef (Slovenia), Zsofia Kov (Hungary), Yuliya Inshina (Azerbaijan), Chaimaa Zemzami (Mauritania) also qualified for the final in the discipline.
Pablo Braegger of Switzerland finished the men’s floor exercise qualification on top by accumulating 14, 133 points. The 24-year-old Swiss outsmarted Chia-Hung Tang of China (14,000) Romanian Marian Dragulescu (14,000) to finish on top.
Also qualified for the final in the event include Ferhat Arican (Turkey), Milad Karimi (Kazakhstan), Kilchi Takenaka (Japan) Artur Davtyan (Armenia) and Oskar Kirmes (Finland).
The qualification round will continue today, with the male gymnasts to compete for finals of vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Today’s final day of qualification also includes women’s events of balance beam and floor. The entry for fans willing to catch live action will remain free.
Qatar's Ahmed Mosa and Jana Elkeky will also be seen in action today.
