Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai (李智凱) on Sunday won gold in the men’s pommel horse competition at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Baku, Azerbaijan.
With an overall score of 15.400 points, Olympic medalist Lee, also known as the “pommel horse prince,” tied with Stephen Nedoroscik of the US for first place, bringing the Taiwanese closer to winning a spot at the Paris Summer Olympics.
The competition in Baku is one of the International Gymnastics Federation’s four apparatus World Cup series events that serve as Olympic qualifiers. Competitions in Cairo and Cottbus, Germany, were held last month, while the last World Cup series event is in Doha from April 17 to April 20.
Photo grab from Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation website
Although ranked 12th after the Cairo and Cottbus competitions, 27-year-old Lee on Sunday pulled off a particularly tough pommel horse routine to secure top spot in Baku.
Lee’s strategy in Azerbaijan, including the decision to take on a challenging move in his routine, propelled him ahead of at least two rivals who had outranked him in previous events, said his coach, Lin Yu-hsin (林育信).
Lin called Lee’s performance “almost perfect,” adding that the gymnast had given his all in the routine.
Photo: CNA
The win also helps boost global recognition of Taiwan’s gymnastic prowess, he said.
At the Tokyo Olympic Games, Lee won silver in the men’s pommel horse, and last year won golds at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and at the Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China.
Shiao Yu-jan (蕭佑然), another Taiwanese pommel horse competitor, placed third in Baku with his highest-ever score of 15.300 points.
His coach, Cheng Kun-chieh (鄭焜傑), said Shiao should have been given a higher score because of a challenging move he completed.
In other events, Taiwanese horizontal bar standout Tang Chia-hung (唐嘉鴻) placed fifth with 14.200 points, but held on to the top overall spot following the first three Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series competitions.
Tang and coach Weng Shih-hang (翁士航) hugged after the event, as he was one step closer to securing an Olympic spot. With the No. 1 ranking, the gymnast nicknamed “King of Cat” is likely to qualify for Paris.
Taiwanese Tseng Wei-sheng (曾為聖) placed fourth in the men’s vault, while Ting Hua-tien (丁華恬) was sixth in the women’s parallel bars event.
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