Gymnasts gear up for the 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships at Aspire Dome.
Doha: The 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships will get under way with the qualifying rounds here at the Aspire Dome today.
The finals will be held on Friday and Saturday respectively.
Many top men and women gymnasts are taking part in the competition that is being held in the Qatari capital after 2008.
A very fierce competition is on the cards as the Asian Championships are also serving as a qualifying event for the 2022 FIG World Artistic Championships, scheduled to be held in Liverpool (United Kingdom) from 29 October to 6 November.
Qatar Gymnastics Federation President Ali Al Hitmi speaks during a meeting ahead of the 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, yesterday.
The men’s competition include Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar categories while the women gymnasts will compete in Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor categories.
Qatar Gymnastics Federation President Ali Al Hitmi, who is also the chairman of the tournament’s Organizing Committee, said the stage is set to welcome the world’s and Asia’s best gymnasts.
“The competition halls are decked up to welcome the gymnasts,” said Al Hitmi.
Qatar's Rakan Al Harith
Al Hitmi thanked the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), Asian Gymnastics Union, Aspire Zone Foundation and Aspire Academy for their unstinted support in organising the Asian competition.
“We are always thankful to QOC. QGF also takes this opportunity to thank the other stakeholders who have contributed immensely,” said Al Hitmi, who is also a First Vice-President at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
QGF Secretary General Abeer Al Buainain hoped that the Asian Championships would be another success story of Qatar in terms of its exceptional organizational capabilities in hosting a top international sports event.
“The event management will be at the highest level. We hope to achieve our goal to reaffirm Qatar’s position in the world as a top-notch hosts of major sports championships,” said Al Buanian, who will be one of the WAG judges during the competition.
On Qatari gymnasts’ chances in the championships, Al Buainain said, “We look forward to achieving the desired results from our gymnasts.”
Qatar will field Rakan Al Harith (MAG) in the competition.
“I’m happy to participate in this championship. It will be an opportunity to compete with the best and gain some valuable experience. I’ll do my best to qualify for the final,” said Al Harith. “I also want to thank QGF and Mr Ali Al Hitmi for their valuable support and encouragement.”
Uzbekistan’s 46-year-old Oksana Chusovitina will be one of the star performers among others.
A record eight-time Olympian, the Uzbek legend still has enough firepower to overcome the new generation gymnasts. She will be competing in her favourite pet event, vault.
