DOHA: The Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) president Ali Ahmed Al Hitmi said that the success of the last year’s FIG 48th ART World Championships will reflect on the 12th FIG ART Individual Apparatus World Cup.
The four-day top international event, which is a part of the World Cup Series, will be held at the Aspire Dome from March 20.
“Everyone is working hard to make this tournament successful,” Al Hitmi said at a press conference here on Saturday.
The tournament was first held in the Qatari capital 11 years ago, and since then Doha has established as one of the top international destinations for the sport.
“Organising international sporting events was part of investing in human capital. It’s a part of Qatar National Vision 2030 which offers young Qatari athletes gain experience from such tournaments,” said Al Hitmi, who exuded confidence on delivering yet another successful international competition.
The hosts will field experienced Ahmed Al Dayani, who has had some memorable performances in the last couple of editions. Ahmed Mosa is the other participant while Raslan Saoud will make his debut as a senior in a major competition.
Several top names had taken part in the Doha leg in the previous editions including the legendary Kohei Uchimura (JPN) last year.
A total of 128 male and 60 female gymnasts from 57 countries have entered into competition, which will have 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games berths on offer.
The Olympic Qualification Ranking list will be established after the last competition of the 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 World Cup Series.
The assignment of World Cup points for each competition will be the base to establish the Olympic Qualification Ranking list. However, competitors who were part of a team which qualified at the 2018 or 2019 FIG World Championships will be deleted from the list of each competition and the number of points earned will be assigned to the next eligible gymnast.