The Qatar Gymnastics Federation announced the change of the name of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup to the World Challenge Cup in a press conference, yesterday.
The limited sponsors and increase media coverage were the main reasons for the renaming of the 50,000 USD event, according to Ali Al-Hitmi, president of Qatar Gymnastics Federation.
“ There are International champions competing in this competition so we had to change the name of the event to give it more value,” said Al-Hitmi.
Regarding the value of the event, the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup is now more than just an International competition.
“The tournament is now more important than the previous ones because gymnasts can score points that help them qualify for the Olympics,” said Al-Hitmi.
This year, the event will bring some of the finest stars in the sport to Doha, which includes London 2012 Olympic Champions Kriszti?n Berki of Hungary and Arthur Zanneti of Brazil.
When asked about how the competition will be like for the six Qatari gymnasts who will be participating, Al-Hitmi minced no words on what he is expecting from his team.
“Our gymnasts need to train at least six hours a day if they want to be good but they don’t have time for that because they all go to university but we try to adapt their studying with their training and hopefully they will do good,” said Al-Hitmi.
The competition will run from March 27-29 at Aspire Indoor Hall. Tickets can be purchased at City Center or Landmark.
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By Mai Akkad
Media Committee