BENJAMIN Jesus Mendoza suffered a bad case of nerves and wound up dead last Sunday in the seniors finals of the 4th Asian Seniors and Juniors Trampoline Gymnastics Championships at the University of Makati basketball gym.
Competing fourth among the eight finalists, Mendoza wobbled and landed on a pad within the performance area, a violation that forced him to cut his routine short and wound up in eighth spot with a meager tally of 13.650 points.
Rio Olympic Games veteran Pirmammad Aliyev of Kazakhstan had a near-flawless routine to earn the gold with a score of 56.635 points, North Korea’s Kim Yun Song bagged silver (53.045) while fellow Kazakh Daniyar Tussupov bronze (49.180) at the end of the tourney organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.
In the women’s division consisting of three entries that finished last Saturday, India’s Shivani Dound (35.635), teammate Siddhi Breed (28.515) and Filipina Erin Abaniel (11.70) were awarded the gold, silver and bronze medal, respectively, in the event supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board.
“My legs felt soft while I was warming up, and it might be due to nerves because this was my first time to compete in the Asian championships,” admitted Mendoza of his poor outing after his fifth-place showing in the qualifiers last Saturday.
“But I won’t stop performing because this is a fun and exciting sport for me,” added the graduating UP Diliman Sports Science student, who was able to recover from a severe injury to his left knee three years ago to spring back into action in his forte.
Japan and China emerged as the big winners in the juniors division where slots to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) set in October in Buenos Aires, Argentina were up for grabs.
The Japanese collected the gold and silver in the boys division with Takumi Fujimoto emerging on top in with a score of 55.755 points in a close duel with teammate Hayato Miyano (55.660), who was relegated to runner-up honors. China’s Wu Wei settled for the bronze (55.545).
“I am very happy with this victory and I look forward to competing well in the YOG,” said Fujimoto, 15, through an interpreter and who lives in the Ishikawa provincial capital of Kanazawa overlooking the Sea of Japan, a five-hour drive northwest from Tokyo.
On the other hand, China’s Fan Xinyi reigned supreme in the girls division with 54.740 points while teammate Yan Junyi was second (52.805) and Japan’s Masuzaki Serina (51.800) third.
Speaking through an interpreter, Fan, a student at the Beijing Sports University, said she was delighted at qualifying for the YOG, while her teammate Yan confidently declared that “Fan will win the gold in Buenos Aires.”
Shane Francis Peralta and Fiona Mae Ventenilla, the country’s campaigners in the boys and girls divisions, respectively, did not make the cut during the qualifying competitions last Saturday.
The top three finishers in both boys and girls divisions will represent the continent in the Buenos Aires YOG.
