Yesterday, the brightest star in the gymnastics competition of the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games was undoubtedly the 43-year-old vaulting horse General Qiu sovignine, who won the vaulting horse silver medal on behalf of Uzbekistan. Although she failed to win the gold, she was very satisfied with the competition. She said that she would not only participate in the Gymnastics World Championship held in Doha in October this year, but also fully impact the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, because she wanted to create an unparalleled record for herself to participate in the 8th Olympic Games.
Be asked to retire and turn around
Qiu sovina lost to Zhao Shujing of South Korea in yesterday’s game and failed to add another gold to the Uzbekistan delegation. Born in 1975, she is 43 years old this year, even older than the coaches of other participating teams. Besides being an athlete, she is also the coach of Uzbekistan gymnastics team. Since 1992, Qiu sovikina has participated in seven Olympic Games, representing CIS, Uzbekistan and Germany. After she was 30 years old, she still struggled on the court because she wanted to earn medical expenses for her son suffering from leukemia. This great mother touched the world sports, and her son’s illness was also under control. Now, her goal of continuing to gallop on the court is to create a record.
“I am preparing for the Tokyo Olympics every day. This is my ultimate goal. The Jakarta Asian Games is only part of it. I train hard every day and prepare for every game seriously.” After the game, Qiu sovina reluctantly took a picture on the background board beside the stadium. She raised the silver medal on her chest and looked proud. “I am also very happy to get the silver medal. After the Asian Games, I plan to have a good rest and prepare for the world championships.” The Gymnastics World Championship held in Doha in October this year was also a qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She told reporters that she would definitely participate in the competition. “Because I hope I can participate in the Tokyo Olympics, which will be my eighth Olympic Games. No one in the world can do this. I will work hard for this goal.”
Qiu sovina has already won gold medals in the Olympic Games, World Championships and Asian Games. She hopes to advance to the top 3 in vaulting horse in the Tokyo Olympics. As for the success of medals, she doesn’t mind. She also calmly accepted the fact that the age gap between her competitors on the field was getting bigger and bigger, “As for age, everyone will be the same in the future and will get older, whether it is 43 or 16 years old, don’t we still play in the same arena? I participate in competitions and do gymnastics training. This is what I like to do and also a responsibility. I like it.”
Qiu sovina said that she could not speak English but could understand it, so a reporter asked questions in English and she answered in Russian. She always cooperated with everyone’s questions until someone finally asked, “when are you going to retire?” She immediately sank her face and turned to leave straight away.