SUBDIVISION
2
/ GRUPPE 2
(11.00 - 13.00 Uhr |
ARM |
RUS |
SRI |
MAS |
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How good are the Russians really?
That was the big questions
before rotation 2 ?
Der
erste, schwere Gang aufs Podium...
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Yevgeni Podgorni didn't compete due to his injured ellbow.
Reigning world champion Nikolai Kryukov can only compete on
three appartus because of back problems.
Newcomer Yevgeni Krylov
has to comete on all six pieces despite foot problems. Olympic
champion Alexei Nemov isn't in form and won't do pommels or
rings.
The Russian hopes lie with Alexei Bondareno who has had a
lot of bad luck in the last years.
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Rotation
1: |
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Bondarenko's bad luck continues. He falls of pommels and his
score doesn't count towards the team total. Young Georgi
Grebenkov falls as well and Yevgeni Krylov has a huge break.
Kryukov is very stable: He scores 9,675 out of a ten start value. Despite their opening
problems, Russia goes into the lead clearly. The Armenian team looks good, they begin on
floor. Sri
Lanka and Malaysia trail behind. There is also a mixed group
with athletes from Norway, Isreal and Cyprus.
Rotation
2:
The judges are kind to misters Bondarenko and Krylov on rings,
the eternal Russian nemesis. Despite a few breaks they still
scored in the high 9s.
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Rotation
3:
Almost everything went according to plan for the Russians on
vault. Only Yuri Tikhanovski failed to stand up his
handspring-double front vault. Nemov's first routine of the
championships. He scores a 9.475 for the vault that has his
name. Vault wonder Alexei Bondarenko goes one better: His double
Tsukahara has a start value of 10. His 9,725 are the highest
score to date.
Rotation
4:
Bars start with a shocker for the Russian team: Yevgeni Krylov
looses it on a gaint and falls off. Tikhanovski can just about
hold on so at least he scores above 9 points. Bondarenko
has mistakes as well. Barely 9 pts in not enugh for a gymnast
like Bondarenko who wants to contend for individual medals.
Niolai Kryukov is next up and falls over on a handstand. Then he
finishes his double front dismount with a forward roll -
disappointing 7,9 pts. Nemov is no better. The gymnast who has
been dominating the sport for years looks bad on bars with bent
knees and open legs. The judges are kind and spare him the
ulitmate embarrssment with 8,825 points.
Rotation
5:
And the comedy of errors continues of high bar. Yuri Tikhonovski
pulls his Kovacs too close to the bar and has to restart. Georgi
Grebenkov falls on his dismount. Now it is up to the experienced
Nemov and Bondarenko to pull the team back up.With a spectatular
display of release elements they do well enough. Bondarenko
shows a nice piked
Kovacs, followed by a layout Tkachev-straddled Tkachev-GIenger
combination for 9,337. Nemov almost delivers a carbon copy
of this routine, just adding a layout Tkachev to his combination
and another Kovacs. He competes his 10 SV routine very well.
Just puts his hands down on his dismount. 9,425 for this really
great routine is ok.
Rotation 6:
18-year-old Georgi Grebenkov gets the team off to a good start
on floor. He competes with clean lines and earns a 9,137. Krylov
and Tikhanovski on the other hand have a few problems.
Bondarenko can be plesed with his 9,5 for a routine that
includes a double - double and a nice Gogoladse to Fedorchenko
combination. Crowd favourite Alexei Nemov is even more
spectacular, frantically appaluded by the crowd. But he makes
mistakes too: He sits down his double front at the end of a
tumbling run and he struggles on a press to handstand. Only
8,887 pts in the end.
Thanks t the sympathies of certain judges, Russia takes a
decisive lead with 217,384 ahead of Great Britain and the Czech
Republic. Malaysia ranks in last place, even behind India and
Sri Lanka.
Alexei
Bondarenko is the individual leader with 55,074 despite his
mistakes. Israeli Pavel Gofmann has climbed to second place
almost unnoticed.(54,235). Yuri Tikhanovski and Yevgeni Krylov
are third and fourth.
Conclusion:
The Russians should easily qualify to the team final despite
their problems. Arkayev's troups should contend for medals if
Nemov and Bondarenko find back to their original form and
Kryukov and Krylov overcome their injuires. Unfortunately, this
group showed that judges are impressed with big names and didn't
stick to their ruthless scoring from the earlier round. Now it
remains to wait and see how the judges will react to the unknown
South Koreans who are competing in the next round.
Team
Standings after 2 groups: |
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GROUP
2: |
1.
RUS
217,384 |
2.
GBR
208,085 |
3.
CZE
201,096 |
4.
ARM
195,099 |
5.
RSA
194,510 |
6.IND
185,511 |
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