Nagoya [Japan], September 23: Three days after turning the ancient (for a gymnast) age of 27, Japan's Aiko Sugihara gave herself the perfect birthday present.
Sugihara ended China's stranglehold on the women's all-around title in gymnastics at the Asian Games, taking home the gold and leading a 1-3 finish for host Japan on Tuesday at Nagoya City General Gymnasium.
Sugihara posted an overall winning score of 55.599 points to finish ahead of a pair of 16-year-olds, with China's Asian champion Ke Qinqin taking the silver with 55.199 and Japan's rising star Misa Nishiyama third with 55.032.
Sugihara's victory ended China's streak of all-around golds at 13 straight Asian Games since the event was added to the program at Tehran 1974. Ironically, it was not a triumphfor which she had been aiming nor expected.
"More than aiming for the individual all-around, it was more about seeing what I need to do in preparation for tomorrow's team competition," Sugihara said. "Because I wasn't thinking that I had to take the all-around, it ended up being better for me."
Sugihara, who chalked up the highest score in the balance beam, said she did not keep track of her standing during the competition, and actually did not know she had won until being informed after completing her final apparatus, the vault.
"After it was over, I went, 'Wait, what?'" she said. "I was really surprised. [During the meet] I didn't look at my overall score. I'm the type who, if I look at my score, I can't perform well.
I only focus on the apparatus that I am doing and don't worry about my score. That's how I was able to really enjoy this sport of gymnastics that I love."
Sugihara got the ball rolling with a solid routine as the leadoff performer for Japan in the uneven bars. After a strong performance on the balance beam, she made her biggest mistake in the floor, where she twice went over the line. But a spectacular vault, good for 14.100 points, sewed up the title.
"That's something I need to fix for tomorrow," she said of her floor fluffs. "It's been a long time since I've had consecutive days of competition. I will try to recover physically and give my best performance."
Sugihara, who took a year off following the Tokyo Olympics, showed she could still compete at the top level when she won the gold medal in the floor exercise and the balance beam bronze at the 2025 world championships in Jakarta. She added the floor silver at this year's Asian championships in June in Zunyi, China.
China's Zhang Qingying, the world bronze medalist in the all-around and champion on the balance beam regarded as one of the pre-meet favorites, had an uncharacteristic step off the beam and finished in fourth place, .400 behind Nishiyama.
As in the all-around, China enters the team competition having won every Asian Games gold up to now. Sugihara and Co. will look to end that on Wednesday.
The individual apparatus finals will be held on Thursday and Friday. Sugihara qualified in the floor and balance beam, while Ke will compete in the uneven bars and floor. Nishiyama led the qualifiers in the uneven bars, and will also perform in the floor. Leading the qualifying in the vault was Korea's Yeo Seojeong, the world bronze medalist whose father was a silver medalist in the event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Source: Qatar Tribune
