Gymnasts set high goals at World Cup in Germany

Gymnastics

Trịnh Hải Khang has the highest result among Vietnamese gymnasts at the World Cup in Egypt last week. The Việt Nam team will take part in the next World Cup event on February 23-26. Photo dantri.vn

 HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese gymnasts are ready for the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Germany where they will hunt for points to qualify for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

The team of four athletes did not have good results at the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Cairo, Egypt. Only Trịnh Hải Khang qualified for the final of the men's vaults and he finished sixth in the overall ranking.

They flew five hours and landed in Berlin on February 20 and will have three days training ahead of the four-day event at the Cottbus City from February 23-26.

"The highest goal of the team to reach the all finals in Germany," said coach Trương Minh Sang.

"Even just being in final top eight, our athletes could earn many points for their world ranking and they will have better opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

"In Cairo, my players tried their best, but did not achieve the desired results. However, some of their errors can be fixed for better results. We reviewed their performances together and made some changes so that athletes will do well in Germany."

Sang added that each athlete had his own training programme so that they could reach their peak in different tournaments. He believed that his players would make the finals before shining in Cottbus.

Vietnamese gymnastics team arrived in Berlin on February 20. They set high targets for their four days of competing in Cottbus City. VNA/VNS Photo

Nguyễn Văn Khánh Phong is the most potential athlete of the team after he earned an Asian Games silver medal in the men's rings last October in China.

He said although he failed to advance to the final in Cairo he scored points for the Race to Paris campaign. He hoped that he would get higher points in Germany and secure his place in Paris.

He said the Olympic spot was a strong motivation for him to practise and compete with the best.

Meanwhile Khang shared that his personal target was to earn the most points in both floor and vaults categories. His gold medal in team's all-around and bronze in vault in the 32nd SEA Games were motivations for him. He would bring into play his strong points and show the best of himself to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As planned, after Germany, the team will move to Azerbaijan for the next World Cup stop in Baku from March 7-10. They then return home before flying to Qatar for the Doha World Cup on April 17-20. VNS