HANGZHOU — A painful back and left ankle put paid to national rhythmic gymnast Ng Joe Ee’s hopes of a fruitful outing as she could only finish 11th in the final of the individual all-around event of the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium here last night.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games double-gold medallist in the ball and ribbon disciplines, said she sustained the injuries while undergoing training in South Korea, about a week before the Asiad, and admitted that it affected her preparation.
However, the 17-year-old said she did not think of the injury problems when she competed in the qualifying round on Friday and last night’s final as she only wanted to do her best.
“I saw the doctor and was told that I had a ligament tear. So, during the last week before the competition, I could not even stand on my toes… a very difficult time for me. As for my back, it hurts whenever I stretch.
“During the competition, I was still in pain but I still pushed myself because I wanted to get good results in the Asian Games,” she said.
In the final, Joe Ee accumulated 116.250 points — hoop (28.800 pts), ball (31.550 pts), clubs (27.700 pts) and ribbon (28.200 pts) — to finish 11th out of 23 participants.
Uzbekistan’s Takhmina Ikromova (131.300 pts) took gold while Kazakhstan’s Elzhana Taniyeva (130.700 pts) and Milana Parfilova (130.050 pts) settled for silver and bronze.
Asiad debutant Joe Ee said that, overall, she was satisfied with her 11th position, having completed the qualifying round in the 12th spot.
“I’m satisfied with (being in the) top 11. Hopefully, I will get better results at future Games,” she said. — October 8, 2023