The Korean rhythmic gymnastics group were surprised when they arrived in Uzbekistan after hearing the news that the event they came for had been cancelled. The disappointment in their faces was obvious as they travelled for 7 hours just to compete for the international competition.
The Korean delegation composed of 20 members – comprised of four gymnasts, managers, coaches and a team doctor – reached Uzbekistan on 6th of May to participate in the 8th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships which will take place at Gymnastics Sports Palace from 8th to 10th of May, 2016.
Unfortunately, at the meeting they attended on the 7th of May, they were told by the Asian Gymnastics Union (the organization which is responsible for hosting the event) without prior notice that the group event was cancelled. The AGU told that the reason for the cancellation was because of the FIG World Cup that is scheduled to take place this week. That was a very frustrating news for the Korean delegation, as two of their gymnasts were scheduled to participate in the group event.
The cancellation of the group event affected not only the Korean group, but also other countries who flew their way to Uzbekistan just to compete.
Infuriated Korean representatives and other countries demanded the event organizers to deal with this matter and devise an effective solution.
“We’ve confronted the AGU about the matter,” said a staffer from the Korean gymnastics governing body. “After making our case, it’s been arranged that the gymnasts who were originally planning to participate in group events could compete in individual events.”
The Asian Gymnastics Union also sent a letter of apology to the participating nations for the unexpected and unannounced changes in the competition’s schedule. The letter itself, however, was not enough to compensate for the time, effort and money that the nations spent to participate in the event.
The four rhythmic gymnastics members of the Korean delegations were Son Yeon-jae, Chun Song-e, Lee Da-ae and Lee Na-kyung. They were chosen after the two rounds of national team qualifiers with Son and Chun grabbing the first and second spot, while Lee Da-ae and Lee Na-kyung acquired the third and fourth place.
While Son and Chun were slated to compete in the individual event of the competition, Lee Da-ae and Lee Na-kyung were scheduled to participate only in the group event. However, the sudden cancellation of the group event forced the two Lees to compete in the individual event, despite their weeks-long effort preparing for the group competition.
This is not the very first time that the Asian Gymnastics Union has come under criticism. The Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Uzbekistan was originally a biennial event – a competition that is held once every two years. The event was initially expected to take place in 2017, but the AGU decided to hold the competition this year and even changed the date from June to May, causing hassle and confusion amongst participating nations and gymnasts.
Despite the sudden changes in the competition, the Korean representatives are doing just fine, with Son Yeon-jae dominating the competition, taking home all of the five individual titles.
Son is aiming to acquire a medal at the upcoming Olympic Games this August. If she will be able to do so, she’ll be the first-ever Korean gymnast to take home an Olympic medal in rhythmic gymnastics.
“I am so happy to wrap up this year's Asian Championships with five gold medals,” the 21-year-old gymnast said "I will keep training hard for the Rio Olympics in August.”
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