The Star Online > Sports

Women's gymnastic team for first overseas training stint

BY RAJES PAUL

Artistic gymnasts Nor Nathma is among eight chosen for a three-month training stint in Hebei, China.

KUALA LUMPUR: After being sidelined from several overseas stints and championships last year due to poor form, the national women's artistic gymnastic team, led by Nurul Fatiha Abdul Hamid, have received a big boost in their bid to regain their status as one of the top countries in the sport in South East Asia. 

The team will go to China in April for a three-month training stint in Hebei. 

It is the first time that the women gymnasts will be going out of the country for a long training stint.  

The stint is expected to strengthen the team's preparation for the Manila SEA Games in December.  

Besides the 19-year-old Nurul, the others selected for the exposure trip are Nabihah Ali (14-year-old), Nor Nathma Nordin (15), Noor Haslin Fatihin Hasnan (15) and Tan Kai Ling (14). All five are training under Chinese coach Du Hong Wei. 

The second group of gymnasts in the national team – Chan See Wah (14), Choong Sue Jinn (14), Charity Lim Yun (14), who train under Russian Victor Soloviev, will also take part in the three-month stint. 

Artistic gymnasts Nurul has also been chosen for a three-month training stint in Hebei, China.

The men's team led by Ng Shu Wai are already in China.  

Shu Wai is undergoing a two-year stint in China.  

His six other teammates - Ng Shu Mun, Ooi Wei Siang, Lum Mum Foong, Mohd Azzam Azmi, Yap Kiam Bun and Mohd Shahril Johari – are currently in Nanjing, China, for a two-month stint. 

Yesterday, the Malaysian Gymnastic Federation (MGF)'s elite programme director C. Kula said that the training stint in China would do a world of good for the national women gymnasts.  

“We felt that training at a different environment will be good for the gymnasts. They will train together with the gymnasts from China.  

“They can learn from them and improve. 

“We hope the trip will help them gauge their standard against the Chinese gymnasts,” said Kula. 

Following the retirement of many senior gymnasts after the Vietnam SEA Games, Kula said that the current team were still young and lacked international exposure. 

“Except for Nurul, the others are relatively new in the national team. We hope this China trip will put them in better stead for the SEA Games,” he added. 

At the Vietnam SEA Games in 2003, Nurul bagged two gold medals.  

Prior to their China trip, four youngsters - Nabihah, Nathma, Sau Wah and Sue Jinn - have been selected for the Asian Junior championships in Qatar from Feb 12-18. Then, Nurul and the team, will take part in the 29th Turnier der Meister championships in Germany from March 18-20.