Top gymnasts to showcase their skills at DuGym Cup

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Top gymnasts to showcase their skills at DuGym Cup
Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Ghazi Al Madani and Angel Ebru Ilgaz at the press conference.

Dubai - 450 participants from 17 countries will be seen in action from December 7 to 9

By Clareto Monsorate

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Published: Mon 4 Dec 2017, 6:42 PM

Last updated: Mon 4 Dec 2017, 8:46 PM

The Dubai International Rhythmic Gymnastics - DuGym Cup - is back. And, this year it will be held on a much bigger platform.

Having met with success in its inaugural year in 2016 in which 285 gymnasts from 21 countries participated, this year the event has attracted 450 participants, aged 5 to 16, from 17 countries, including 62 teams - five of which are from the UAE - competing for 48 gold medals in the individual categories and 12 in team disciplines.

Organised by DuGym Rhythmic Gymnastics, UAE's first club of its sort, and supported by the Dubai Sports Council, the second edition will be held at the Al Manara Sports Hall in Jumeirah from December 7-9. The countries participating are Armenia, Australia, Bulgaria, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, USA, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and UAE.

The event has attracted a world-renowned panel of judges as well, including Russian legend Yevgeniya Kanayeva, the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals - at the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Olympics. She has also won 17 World titles and 13 European championships.

Ghazi Al Madani, Manager of Sports Tourism at Dubai Sports Council, addressing the media, said: "Last year, we saw 285 international gymnasts from 21 countries compete here, while stars like the Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Anna Rizatdinova of Ukraine, Dora Vass of Hungary and Bulgaria's Maria Mateva were in attendance as well.

"This year, we have almost doubled the number of participants and, of course, we will be graced by the presence of one of the biggest stars of the sport - Yevgeniya Kanayeva. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, and she has also won 17 World titles.

"So, personally, I am really looking forward to watching a legend of the sport mentoring promising young talents here, and I am sure these sentiments are shared by every lover of this elegant sport."

Yevgeniya said it was a pleasure to be here. "I'm really happy and excited to be here. I am looking forward to the competition and interacting with the participants."

With competitions to be held at an individual and group level; participants will have varied options in skill display that include Free Hand, Rope, Ball, Hoop; as well as styles of their choice.

The participants will also have the opportunity to attend a Masterclass on December 10 and 11, where Elena Karpushenko, personal coach of three-time world all round champion and world record holder Yana Kudryavtseva, and Salome Pazhava, all round bronze medallist at the 2016 FIG World Cup series, will share their experience.

For participation log on to www.dugymcup.com

clareto@khaleejtimes.com


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