DOHA: Uzbekistan’s veteran gymnast Oksana Chusovitina showed age is only about numbers after she qualified for the women’s vault at the 14th Taishan Artistic World Cup at the Aspire Dome on Wednesday.
A familiar face at the Doha edition, the 46-year-old competed against a new generation of gymnasts.
The record seven-time Olympian amassed 12.949 points on the qualification list behind Victoria Listunova (13.466) and Hungary’s Maria Csenge Bacskay (13.033).
Interestingly, Oksana competed against gymnasts who were not even born when she made her Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
If nothing goes wrong, the Uzbek veteran is likely to take the podium after the finals.
Merdinyan lives up to expectations
Armenia’s 2016 Olympian Harutyun Merdinyan was at his best on the pommel horse as he ended up with 14.600 points to lead the table. He was followed by Nariman Kurbanov (KAZ) and Illia Kovtun (UKR). A total of eight qualifiers will fight for the top three places in the finals.
Great Britain’s Luke Whitehouse (14.166) and Sunghyun Ryu of South Korea (14.100).
Armenian duo qualifies
Armenian duo of Vahagn Davtyan and Artur Avetisyan made it to the finals on the men’s rings.
Coming off from a second-place finish in the first edition of the World Cup Series in Cottbus (Germany), Davtyan was closely challenged by his fellow compatriot.
Qualifiers:
MAG Rings
Vahagn Davtyan ARM 14.700
Artur Avetisyan ARM 14.633
Dzmitry Hurynovich BLR 14.333
Nikita Simonov AZE 14.066
Roman Vashchenko 13.733
Ivan Tikhonov AZE 13.400
Illia Kovtun UKR 13.100
Saba Abesadze GEO 13.066
MAG Floor Exercise
Artem Dolgopyat 14.666
Luke Whitehouse GBR 14.166
Sunghyun Ryu 14.100 KOR
Aurel Benovic 14.000 Croatia
Adam Steele 13.966 Ireland
Illia Kovtun 13.933 Ukraine
Milad Karimi Kaz 13.900
Nicolau Mir ESP 13.500
Pommel Horse
Harutyun Merdinyan ARM 14.600
Nariman Kurbanov KAZ 14.566
Illia Kovtun UKR 14.466
Rhys Mc Clenaghan IRL 14.466
Artem Dolgopyat 14.166
Maxime Gentges BEL 13.933
Khabibullo Ergashev UZB 13.900
Xheni Dyrmishi AUT 13.633
Women’s Vault
Viktoriia Listunova 13.466
Csenge Maria Hungary Bacskay 13.033
Oksana Chusovitina UZB 12.949
Tjasa Kysselef Slovenia 12.766
Arina Semukhina 12.466
Dorina Boeczoego HUN 12.399
Sihem Hamidi ALG 11.599
Nisrine Hassanaine MAR 11.500
Uneven Bars
Viktoriia Listunova 14.700
Daniela Batrona 12.833
Mariia Minaeva 12.533
Anastasiya Smantsar 12.200
Bianka Schermann 11.066
Lucija Hribar 10.766
Ella Borg 10.033
Lahna Salem 9.500
Today’s Schedule:
MAG Qualifications for Apparatus Finals (Vault, Parallel Bar, Horizontal Bar)
WAG Qualifications for Apparatus Finals (Beam & Floor)
