12th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup 2019 Kicks Off Wednesday

Doha, March 19 (QNA) - The 12th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup will kick off on Wednesday in Doha with participation from a number of world and Olympic champions. The four-day event qualifies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Executive Director of the Organizing Committee and President of the Qatar Gymnastics Federation Ali Al Hitmi said that all participants are from 55 countries, 16 more than 2018, and is the largest participation in the history of the tournament after the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which was also hosted by Doha and witnessed impressive success in October 2018, especially because it is the first time the tournament was hosted in the Middle East. Al Hitmi added that the technical committee of the tournament has developed a schedule of exercises so that every participant receives full opportunity to train on the devices that are part of the tournament to ensure fair chances for all. He explained that the qualifying will be held Wednesday and Thursday for men and women, while the finals and medal presentations will be held on Friday and Saturday. Al Hitmi stressed that the committees working in the championship held many meetings to arrange everything before the start of competitions, noting that the Organizing Committee also held technical meetings of the championship with the heads of delegations. The meeting dealt with the schedule, schedule of transport, results and other artistic objects, he added. He affirmed that the Qatari championship has become a global destination for all the champions and champions of the world who are keen to attend, participate and seek to win the first place due to its importance among the rest of the World Cup rounds. For her part, Competition Manager for the 12th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Abeer Al Buainain said that the Qatari team will have strong presence in the tournament from start to finish, with the number roughly 150 qualified Qatari youth who have gained great experience over the past years. Al Buainain pointed out that the Qatar Gymnastics Federation is also participating alongside the referees of the International Gymnastics Federation, and that it will also participate as an international referee in the tournament, pointing out that the number of referees are 110, including a number of Qatari participants. The organizing committee of the tournament had announced the participation of six Arab countries along the hosts Qatar, namely Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Libya. The new logo of the Gymnastics Federation has also been unveiled, which carries with it hopes for a period to come and aspirations for a future. Three players from the Qatar gymnastics team will participate in the tournament. They are Ahmed Al Dayani, Ahmed Mosa and Raslan Saoud, who will make his debut as a senior in a major competition. The head of the gymnastics federation said the national team had prepared well for the tournament, hoping that they would pass the qualification stage and qualify for the finals. Top star featuring in the event includes world champions Xiao Ruoteng and Zou Jingyuan of China and Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands. World's oldest Olympian Oksana Chusovitina, 43, who is targeting her record eighth appearance at the Games, will also be competing in Doha along with Belgium's reigning world champion Nina Derwael. Several Olympic and world champions are among the stars who are taking part in the four-day event in Doha. A total of 128 male and 60 female gymnasts from 57 countries will be seen in action in the highly-anticipated event, which QGF is organizing for the 12th consecutive year. (QNA)