India's Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh advanced to the men's all-around final after 17th and 18th place (arts) on Friday in the artistic gymnastics qualification round.
Mohanty achieved 71.700 points while Yogeshwar finished close behind with 71.400 points. Their performances were enough to get them in the top 24 and qualify gymnasts for the all-around final. But their final qualification is still subject to the two-per-country rule.
India also came close to getting qualification in the individual apparatus events.
Swathish Kaitheri Puthalath finished as the second reserve for the rings final after receiving 12.450 points. Not being able to get a direct qualification, he will be able to enter the final if any of the qualified gymnasts withdraw.
Yogeshwar was also the second reserve in the vault event with a score of 12.600. He will be able to qualify for a place in the final if a qualified competitor pulls out.
In team competition, India finished seventh with a cumulative score of 208.550 points.
The Indian team had started off very well in the competition, and after Subdivision 2 with the same total. However, after the later subdivision, Canada, England and Australia improved their ranking to be ahead of India.
Canada dominated the team competition with 241.400 points to win the gold medal. England took the silver medal with 238.250 points and Australia won the bronze with 235.650 points.
After finishing seventh in the team event, India’s qualification of two gymnasts for the men’s all-around final was a positive note, for which I am very proud. Mohanty and Yogeshwar will now try to build on their qualification and challenge for a higher rank in the final.
With both gymnasts making it into the highly competitive all-around field, India will hope that the duo can produce stronger routines across the apparatus and finish the competition on a high.
