Gymnasts strike five-golds in Greece

Malaysia's Koi Sie Yan in action to win the join Gold Medal with S.Shasangari Nagarajan in Individual All-Around at Bishan Sports Hall in Singapore yesterday.(14/06/2015/S.S.KANESAN/The Star)

KUALA LUMPUR: National rhythmic coach Yulia Ivanova could barely hide her delight after watching her charges win five gold medals in their first international outing this year – the Elegant Cup Kalamata in Greece.

But it wasn’t the five golds that lit up her face. She was more excited by her gymnasts’ ability to adapt quickly to changes to their routines.

“We had introduced new techniques and new approaches in training ... and it was good to see them applying these changes during their first international competition,” said Ivanova.

“They executed their routines quite well. There were some mistakes, but we can work on them. It was a good platform for us to evaluate them ... so, I am quite pleased with that.”

In the Elegant Cup Kalamata, which ended on Monday, SEA Games gold medallist Koi Sie Yan dazzled her way to two gold medals.

The 16-year-old Sie Yan bagged the individual all-around gold with 14.950 points and nailed her second in the clubs with a high score of 15.600. She also won two silvers in the hoop (15,050) and ribbon (13.950) events.

Newly-promoted Izzah Amzan (pic)showed her potential by capturing two gold medals in the ribbon and hoop. She was moved from the junior squad to senior this year.

SEA Games gold medallist N. Shasangari Sivaneswary also impressed with her silver medal wins in the individual all-around and clubs.

Malaysia’s fifth gold came from the junior group exercise team of Koh Jei Yi, Wong Kay Lyn, Amirul Fares Amira Sofiya, Nur Irdina Abdul Malek and Jessie Liaw Zi Xing. They scored 10.250 points for the top prize.

Thirteen-year-old Rayna Hoh Khai Ling also stole the show in the junior competition, emerging second in the clubs with 14.200 points while team-mate Nur Naieme Zainul Ariffin came in third with 13.800.

The other Malaysians who took part in the tournament were Chong Lok Yi, Tammy Ng Jia Wen and Fong Wan Qin.

“It was good to see Rayna winning a medal in her international debut. She has much potential,” said Ivanova, who is preparing the seniors for a more challenging task – the World Cup – in Finland next month.