Rachel wins balance beam title for second gold in Hanoi
HANOI: National artistic gymnast Rachel Yeoh Li Wen won the balance beam event to clinch her second gold in the 31st SEA Games at the Quan Ngua Gymnasium Centre on Monday.
The excellent performance by the 23-year-old came on the heels of her triumph in the uneven bars on Sunday.
In Monday’s competition, Rachel amassed 12.567 points to edge Aleah Finnegan Cruz of the Philippines into second place on 12.367 points while Vietnam’s Pham Nhu Phuong took bronze on 12.167 points.
When met by reporters, Rachel said her achievements in Hanoi would motivate her to work harder to produce good results at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July and 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
Rachel said she had targeted just a podium finish in the balance beam.
“The competition is very stiff here and winning two golds and a bronze is a good achievement,” said the Penang-born athlete, who won bronze in the individual all-around three days ago.
Rachel, however, she finished last in floor exercise among eight participants with a score of 11.467 points.
Thailand’s Sasiwimon Mueangphuan and Indonesia’s Rifda Irfanaluthfi shared the gold with 12.700 points while the bronze went to Vietnam’s Pham Phuong Nhu on 12.033 points.
Meanwhile, four national men’s gymnasts failed to finish among the top three in their finals.
Muhammad Sharul Aimy, who won bronze in pommel horse on Sunday, could only manage sixth place in the vault while Teoh Chuen Feng finished eighth in the horizontal bars.
In the parallel bars, Luqman Al Hafiz Zulfa ended up in sixth place while Ng Chun Chen was last among eight participants.