Wang Qi wins historic medal at Rhythmic Gymnastics junior worlds

SOFIA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese rhythmic gymnast Wang Qi won a silver medal in the ball event at the third FIG Junior World Championships on Sunday, becoming the first Chinese athlete to reach the podium at the junior worlds.

Wang advanced to the finals in both the ball and ribbon events after placing third in each of the qualifiers. In the ball final, she delivered an outstanding performance to score 25.950, earning the highest artistry score of 9.700 among all finalists. Akmaral Yerekesheva of Kazakhstan claimed gold with a score of 26.150, posting the highest difficulty mark of 10.200. Nita Jamagidze of Georgia took bronze with 25.550.

Yerekesheva continued her dominance in the ribbon final with a leading score of 26.400. Lina Heleika of Egypt and home favorite Magdalena Valkova finished second and third, respectively. Wang narrowly missed the podium, falling just 0.150 points short of Valkova.

Wang told Xinhua that she had matured significantly through the competition. "I was quite nervous, since this was my first junior worlds and it was very competitive. It was so pity that I made some mistakes in the qualifiers of the hoop and the clubs."

However, she said the finals were the most thrilling part of the experience. "Luckily I prepared well mentally. The medal was a great inspiration for me, it showed me where I should work on in the future."

More than 350 gymnasts from around 70 countries and regions participated in the competition for athletes aged 14 to 15, which began on Wednesday. ■