This month, Turkish gymnast A. Asil made his first appearance in a world championships apparatus final, and he made the most of it.
A. Asil Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
A. Asil, after winning the still rings final at the World Championships in Liverpool on November 5, said, “I’m really delighted because my first world medal is a gold.” I put forth a lot of effort, and now look at me—I won the global championship! The hard work paid off, and I made it!
A. Asil, 23, hoped to improve on his 11th-place result in the all-around final at last year’s Worlds in Kitakyushu by posting a strong performance on the rings in Liverpool.
This is what I expected to happen,” said A. Asil, who finished seventh on rings, sixth on vault, and fifteenth in the all-around in the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer. “Before these global championships, I entered a lot of tournaments and always achieved a high score.”
Before reaching the 2022 Liverpool Challenge Cup final, A. Asil had already won three Challenge Cups that year, at Osijek (June), Paris (September), and Mersin (October). He placed second on rings in the European Championships in Munich, and third in the all-around at the Mediterranean Games in Oran, both this summer.
A. Asil said that he was able to improve his qualifying score by 0.300 points in the final in Liverpool because of his calm demeanour and his confident finish.
He explained, “I tried to go about my daily activities as usual.” I had no trouble communicating with my coach and teammates before to the tournament in the same relaxed manner as during regular practises. That’s when I started to laugh.
I was completely joking. Since the dismount was the only part of my routine on which I needed to improve in order to pass qualifications, I devoted all of my attention to perfecting that one element.
While enjoying his triumph in Liverpool, A. Asil promised to improve his rings routine in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
I’m capable of taking on greater challenges, he declared. I can see how powerful the other gymnasts are, so I know I need to work harder. But I’m just pleased with how things turned out. For now, I think I’ve had my fill.
