Yulo and Algeria’s Kaylia steal limelight on final day in Doha

DOHA: Former World champion Carlos Yulo of the Philippines wrapped the 16^th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Championships with one gold and silver on Saturday here at the Ladies Sports Hall.

After narrowly missing the top honour in MAG vault final, where Yulo (15.066) and Yahor Sharamkou (14.749) finished second third in vault Armenia’s 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Artur Davtyan (15.166), the Filipino star came back strongly on the parallel bars.

Yulo, a hot favourite of the local Doha fans, accumulated 15.200 points ahead of Taipei’s Yuan-Hsi Hung (14.966). Brazil’s Caio Souza (14.566) completed the podium line-up.

20 gymnasts from this competition will fight for a berth to compete at the Paris 2024.

A gymnast’s best three results across four competitions secure points for where they finish, so 30 points for gold, 25 for silver, and 20 for bronze, and so on, down to one point for 16th place.

Two gymnasts per apparatus – so a total of eight women’s artistic gymnasts and 12 men’s – can earn berths for their nation through the series, which concluded today with the Doha event.

Only one country can secure a spot per apparatus, with a maximum of three overall per National Olympic Committee.

But those gymnasts are not eligible if their team has already secured a quota via the 2023 or 2024 World Championships, or if they have already obtained a quota spot for their nation as an individual.

In the MAG’s last event of the evening, Taipei’s Chia-Hung Tang clinched the gold. He was followed by Lithuania’s Robert Tvorogal and Brazil’s Arthur Mariano.

Ukraine’s Anna pips Kaylia for WAG Balance Beam gold

Anna Lashchevska of the Ukraine grabbed the spotlight by winning the women’s Balance Beam final.

Though Algeria’s star gymnast Kaylia Nemour led the standings from the start, it was Anna’s heroics on the beam that saw her clinch the title with 13.533 points.

Neymour, who won the women’s uneven bar on Friday, picked up silver (13.400) followed by Chiara Barzasi of Italy (12.900).

Arab world’s top star has already qualified as an individual to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by finishing in 13th place in the all-around during the qualification round in the Olympic cycle of World Cup Series.

But the Algerian capped a brilliant performance in Doha after she picked up the gold on Floor Exercise. She was followed by Great Britain’s Ruby Evans and Spain’s  Laura Casabuena.