JAKARTA, Oct 24 (NNN-ANTARA) – Olympic champion, Angelina Melnikova, of AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete), reclaimed the women’s all-around title at the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships here yesterday, marking her second world crown in the event after four years.
Melnikova, 25, totalled 55.066 points to take the gold, followed by American gymnast, Leanne Wong with 54.966. China’s Zhang Qingying claimed the bronze with 54.633, earning her first individual world championship medal.
The top six qualifiers competed in the same rotation, starting on vault and proceeding through uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Zhang, who ranked fourth in qualification, began solidly on the vault and continued to deliver stable routines throughout the competition.
Melnikova, the 2021 world all-around champion and Tokyo Olympic team gold medalist, opened with a high, elegant vault that immediately put her in the lead. Japan’s Aiko Sugihara and American teenager Dulcy Caylor, both strong contenders, suffered falls on uneven bars, which allowed Zhang to temporarily rise to second after a clean routine on the same apparatus.
Algeria’s Olympic champion, Kaylia Nemour, known for her outstanding uneven bars skills, thrilled the crowd with the highest score of 15.166 on that apparatus, narrowing the gap with Melnikova to just 0.168 points.
The balance beam proved challenging for many. Melnikova fell once but maintained composure, while both Nemour and Caylor also suffered falls. Zhang delivered a steady and elegant beam routine, landing firmly before embracing her coach, which briefly moved her into first place.
In the final rotation, Zhang’s floor exercise, set to a traditional Chinese-style composition, impressed the audience and lifted her total to 54.633. But Wong, competing on vault at the same time, produced the highest-difficulty vault of the session, scoring 14.466 to overtake Zhang for silver.
Melnikova, the last to perform on floor, finished with the second-highest score of the rotation to secure the title.
The women’s all-around final concluded the second day of finals at the Jakarta world championships, which will continue with apparatus finals over the weekend.– NNN-ANTARA
