FIG World Cup ends in Baku with success of national team

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

The FIG World Cup in Rhythmic Gymnastics, which combines elements of ballet and dance, and blurs the border between sport and art, ended in Azerbaijani capital with the success of the national team.

Following the competitions, six sets of medals were awarded (four medals for individual exercises and two medals - group exercises) at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku on April 29.

Bulgarian team showed the best results in exercises with five hoops with 19.800 points. Italy’s representatives came in second with 18.000 points, while Azerbaijani gymnasts grabbed the bronze medal.

Azerbaijani team consisting of Ayshan Bayramova, Diana Doman, Zeynab Hummatova, Aliya Pashaeva and Siyana Vasileva scored 17.600 points in the finals.

Mariana Vasileva, head coach of the Azerbaijani national rhythmic gymnastics team, said she is very happy that Azerbaijan’s team in group competitions in rhythmic gymnastics has finally won a medal in the home arena.

“When everything ends well, we are all happy. Of course, it’s a pity that we made a mistake at the very end of the exercise with three balls and two ropes,” Vasileva told Trend.

She noted that for some reason, it is more difficult for the team to perform in the home arena.

“I really believed that this time there will be a psychological turning point and this streak of bad luck will end. Thank God that we won a medal in the home arena for the first time. I’m very happy because I saw how many children and parents were in the hall today, and everyone wanted us to win this medal,” she added.

In the exercises with three balls and two ropes, Bulgarian gymnasts took the first place by scoring 19.050 points, Japan’s representatives came in second with 18.000 points. Ukrainian gymnasts also got the same score, but came in third, as they had lower points for performance.

In individual competitions, Russian gymnast Mariia Sergeeva won the gold medal in the exercises with a hoop, Belarusian gymnast Katsiaryna Halkina came in second, while the U.S. representative Laura Zeng won the bronze medal.

Russian gymnast Ekaterina Selezneva won the gold medal in the exercises with a ball, another Russian gymnast Mariia Sergeeva grabbed the silver medal. Kaho Minagawa from Japan came in third.

Ukrainian gymnast Vlada Nikolchenko won the gold medal in the clubs event, Bulgarian gymnast Boryana Kaleyn ranked second, while Russian gymnast Mariia Sergeeva came in third.

Russian gymnast Sergeeva won the gold medal in the exercises with a ribbon, Bulgarian gymnast Katrin Taseva came in second, while Ukrainian representative Vlada grabbed the bronze medal.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Cups were also presented for the three best results at four stages of the FIG World Cup 2018. Boryana Kaleyn received the FIG Cup for the exercises with a hoop, Ekaterina Selezneva – for the exercises with a ball, Vlada Nikolchenko – for the exercises with clubs and Katrin Taseva – for the exercises with a ribbon. Awards were presented by Member of the Technical Committee of the International Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Caroline Hunt.

Competitions, held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku for the sixth time, gathered 127 gymnasts from 26 countries. Of these, 44 athletes performed in individual programs, while 83 gymnasts competed in teams in group exercises.