The state gymnasts with coaches Shaleen Tay (right) and Fiona Lee (left) after receiving their medals and certificates.
KUCHING: Sarawak’s team of Sukma XVIII and back-up gymnasts have continued to do Malaysia proud at the 5th Zhongling Cup International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament in Beijing from Aug 2-4.
They are Sukma XVIII bronze medallist Emilie Nara Zi Yi Jabu and teammates Sarah Ng Xi Yan, Bonnie Tan Yee Wen and back-up gymnasts Alaena Lao Lik Phin, Toh Xian Yong and Scarlett Yuki Chan Yeei Han.
The team — accompanied by coaches Shaleen Tay Hui Shing and Fiona Lee Sing Yin — returned with an impressive haul of three gold and three bronze medals to outshine Kuala Lumpur, the other team representing the country at the highly prestigious tournament in China.
This was a better achievement when compared to only one gold medal won at last year’s tournament.
The three gold medals came from the group exercise of five hoops, five freehand and group exercise overall while the silver contributors were Emilie in the individual ball, Sarah in the individual rope and Emilie, Sarah, Alaena and Toh in the team (six events).
More than 80 gymnasts representing China, Singapore, Malaysia, Ukraine, Russia and Uzbekistan took part in the tournament organised by Zhong Ling Club, a club owned by the ‘Queen of China rhythmic gymnastics’ Zhong Ling who is Asian Games gold medallist.
Sarawak Amateur Gymnastics Association (Sagma) president Helena Christine Wee was extremely pleased with the girls’ performance and said they have gained valuable exposure at the tournament — which was self-funded.
“It is really a very good exposure for our girls. They benefitted a lot from the outing as they had the chance to meet high calibre gymnasts from other countries and shared experiences and exchange ideas,” she said.
“Our girls do not have many chances for exposure as they can only participate in two national championships annually, which are the Youth Circuit and Sportexcel,” said Wee, adding that participating in international championships was the only alternative for top-flight exposure.
Wee said the girls also got to witness the scintillating performances of former Olympic champion Anna Gavrilenko of Russia and former Olympian Alina Maksymenko from Ukraine.
She said sending gymnasts overseas for exposure was a costly affair and Sagma could not afford to send them to more international competitions.
As such, Wee hoped that corporate companies and generous individuals would come forward to sponsor exposure outings for the gymnasts in the near future.
“We really appreciate the full support of the parents of the gymnasts because the trip to Beijing was self-funded,” she added.