The Star :: Monday September 14, 2009

IRANIAN junior gymnasts will be making their debut at the second Artistics and Gymnastics Friendship Competition scheduled to be held at Sri Kuala Lumpur in Subang Jaya from Sept 24 to 27.

Competition director Mike Ng from Total Gymnastique Club said the newcomers were two club-based sides – Kerman Club and Ardebil Club – which would be joining the fray in the artistic contest.

“The biennial meet is an opportunity for our trainees to gauge their strength against their peers from other countries as part of efforts to complement the regular internal competitions throughout the year. We will make arrangements for the young foreign competitors to stay with local families during their visit here so that they can experience the warmth of Malaysian hospitality and local culture,” he added.

 
Show of flexibility: Lau Min Jen will be representing the Sri Kuala Lumpur team in the rhythmic contest.

Two other teams from the region that have confirmed their participation are Muncebul Gymnastics from the Philippines and Senachai Power of Thailand.

Another team, Jak Rhythmic Club from Indonesia, are also considering taking part.

Following their debut at the meet two years ago, the team from the Philippines are making a return with representation in all three events – boys’ artistic, girls’ artistic and rhythmic.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Iran will be competing in the rhythmic and artistic competitions respectively.

In addition, the junior trainees from the Sarawak state team will be offering stiff competition in the rhythmic events.

Ng said they had created the competition format that required each team to field one gymnast in each of the three age-groups – Under-Nine, Under-12 and Under-15 – for the team competition in both the artistic and rhythmic sections.

 
Demonstrating her flair: Georgia Wong will be joining the occasion as an individual entry in the rhythmic events.

“Our aim is to encourage inter-action in the team to allow the seniors to guide the juniors. It is seldom that the younger gymnasts are given the exposure to experience the competitive environment. We have also included the Pre-Junior and Junior group performance events for those who are not in the main rhythmic competition to be part of the occasion,” he added.

For hosts Sri Kuala Lumpur, the duo of nine-year-old Nur Sabrina Mohammad and 13-year-old Chong Shin Yee will be spearheading their challenge in the girls’ artistic section that will be decided over three disciplines (floor exercise, vault and beam).

“We have to consider our options before naming the other gymnast, from the Under-12 age group, in the line-up to put up a strong show against other teams,” Ng said.