KUALA LUMPUR: The upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birming-ham will be a stepping stone for artistic gymnast Rachel Yeoh Li Wen to propel further on the world stage.
After contributing two golds in the uneven bars and balance beam at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi last May, Malaysia Gymnas-tics Federation (MGF) opined that the Commonwealth Games is the right platform to push Rachel to greater heights.
MGF honorary secretary Afrita Ariany Nasril said the quadrennial games would also be good exposure for the 23-year-old to prepare herself to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“Rachel’s achievement in the last SEA Games was a good sign for her to go further,” said Afrita.
“We hope to expose her to more competitions, including world championships and world cups in a bid to qualify for the Olympics.”
Asked whether Rachel will be the next Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, Afrita believed that the former was capable of filling the latter’s big shoes.
As such, she said MGF were working continuously to mould Rachel into a high-performing and world-class athlete.
Meanwhile, Afrita said the gymnast would forgo a training camp in Japan and Slovenia due to a slight injury on her toes.
She said Rachel would continue to train at home before she heads to the West Midlands for the Games.
Apart from Rachel, the artistic gymnastics camp will also rely on Mohd Shahrul Aimy in the men’s events which will be held in Arena Birmingham from July 29 until Aug 2.
The national contingent of 105 athletes will be participating in 14 sports including four para-sports. — Bernama
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