Malaysia enjoy 1-2 finish in rhythmic gymnastics individual all-round final
Ben Dolnick
May 19, 2022 21:52 MYT
May 19, 2022 21:52 MYT
Two national rhythmic gymnasts -- Koi Sie Yan and Ng Joe Ee --mesmerised the judges with their near-flawless performances to ensure Malaysia completed a 1-2 finish in the all-around individual final at the 31st SEA Games today. - Facebook/BERNAMA
HANOI: Two national rhythmic gymnasts mesmerised the judges with their near-flawless performances to ensure Malaysia completed a 1-2 finish in the all-around individual final at the 31st SEA Games here today.
The vastly experienced Koi Sie Yan clinched the gold medal after accumulating 109.100 points after performing with the four apparatus - hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon - while Ng Joe Ee settled for silver with 104.900 points.
Labadan Breanna of the Philippines took bronze with 96.650 points.
Sie Yan, who is making her fourth SEA Games appearance since 2015, thus managed to defend the gold medal she won at the 2019 edition in the Philippines.
For the record, Sie Yan has now collected a total of six individual gold medals, the others being the individual all-around in Singapore (2015); the individual all-around, hoop and clubs in KL (2017); and the ribbon in Manila (2019).
In today's action, Sie Yan scored 25.250 points for hoop, ball (29.850), ribbon (26.600) and clubs (27.400) while Joe Ee had scores of 26.450 for hoop, ball (25.450), ribbon (26.600) and clubs (26.400).
Malaysian gymnasts are considered giants of the rhythmic gymnastics event, having returned from the Manila SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019 with four gold medals through the team all-around, Izzah Amzan (ball and ribbon) and Sie Yan (ribbon).
At the biennial Games here, Vietnam has only listed two categories for rhythmic gymnastics, namely individual and team all-around.
When met by reporters, Sie Yan said her victory today has fuelled her desire to get a positive result in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 in July.
The 23-year-old said she was grateful to be able to defend her gold medal at the SEA Games here and dedicated it to her parents and her coach, Lidia Legotina for always supporting and encouraging her.
"I did not feel the pressure when competing in the final compared to during the qualifying round. I only want to do my best and I'm happy to defend the gold medal," she said.
-- BERNAMA