REVIEW – MEN’S QUALIFICATIONS Day 2

08.10.2019 14:00 Uhr

KAMOTO Yuya from Japan during his routine on vault – 7th of October, Stuttgart

Top teams progress as predicted, with surprises and disappointments elsewhere

7th October – The top teams performed consistently as expected to sit at the top of the leaderboard after both days of qualifications. However there were surprises and disappointments further down the field.

Russia, China and Japan finished in the top three places, a repeat of last year’s qualification result. Ukraine, led by veteran Oleg Verniaiev, improved from last year’s ninth to finish an impressive fourth, earning themselves a spot in the team final on Wednesday.

“I am so proud of my team,” Verniaiev said afterwards. “We did not show our best routines, but we did good. We are in a good position and I am happy.”

Great Britain and Switzerland showed consistency and strength to place fifth and sixth respectively, while team USA, who started in the first subdivision of the day, struggled on pommel horse to finish seventh. Their top star Sam Mikulak fell on floor and parallel bars, but saved his best til last – a stellar routine on the high bar and a place in the apparatus finals on that event.

The big surprise in the men’s results came from a team that had performed in the very first subdivision on the previous day. Chinese Taipei, who were only 17th in Doha last year, showed a massive improvement to finish eighth, booking themselves a place in the team final as well as a ticket to Tokyo. They also have two gymnasts in the pommel horse final, and Tang Chia-Hung topped the field on high bar.

Another surprise came from the world pommel horse champion, Xiao Ruoteng of China. He fell from this apparatus and will be unable to defend his title in the apparatus finals. “I was really disappointed after pommel horse,” he said later. “This was not the performance that I expected, but mistakes happen.”

Germany ended up in 12 place, the last position available for an Olympic team berth, while Italy were in the unlucky 13th spot, missing Olympic team qualification by just over half a point. 

The team that suffered the most was the Netherlands. They reached the team final in Doha last year, but this time they struggled to keep up, and could only manage 19th place. 

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