The President of the African Gymnastics Federation (AGF) Ali Zaatar (pictured), who is here to attend the 12th FIG Artistic Gymnastic World Cup being staged at the Aspire Dome, was all praise for the ‘excellent’ organisation by the hosts Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF), and the participation of athletes from the African region.
Qatar has been hosting the event for the last 12 years and Zaatar said there is no point talking about the standards of the meet in Doha for it is obviously world class.
He was also happy that the championship provides a great chance for Arab and African gymnasts to participate and gain experience.
“Even if the difference in class of performance is stark between the world stars and those aiming to match them, the common platform provides a chance to excel and learn and compete,” said Zaatar while speaking to the media on the second day of the four-day World Cup.
“There are African countries that are interested in gymnastics such as Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, South Africa and Nigeria, but ultimately the African Federation is trying to develop gymnastics despite the hardships,” he added.
“Gymnastics is one sport where a small error can make for the big difference between winning and losing. But the mere chance of being involved in a championship which has world stars of artistic gymnastics is a indeed great gain for those aiming to learn and reach higher,” he stressed.
Among many such athletes who were in action yesterday included Hamza Hossaini of Morocco, Ahmet Onder of Turkey and Abdulrahman Othman of Libya.
Hamza in particular was quite impressive in the men’s vault totaling a score of 14.524 points to finish 11th missing out on the final berth by a narrow margin.
