Son Yeon-jae wins bronze in hoop competition of world championships

Son Yeon-jae has not only touched the heart of judges, but also boosted her self-confidence. Rhythmic gymnast Son, 20, has become the first Korean to win a medal at the FIG world championships.

In the final round of hoop competition of the FIG World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held in Izmir, Turkey on Wednesday (Korea time), Son acquired 17.966 points to win the bronze medal after Yana Kudryavtseva (18.816 points), and Margarita Mamun (18.450 points, both from Russia). In the final round of ball competition, she ranked fifth. She is ranking sixth overall with a combined score of 34.833 in interim tally of the two competitions. Son had ranked 32nd overall in the individual competition in 2010, 11th overall in the individual competition in 2011, and fifth last year. She failed to acquire any medal in those events.

The biggest achievement from this year’s event is the fact she has boosted her self-confidence. She gained the upper hand over rivals at the event, which she took part just ahead of the Asian Games. Deng Senyue, Son’s rival in the Asian Games, ranked fifth in the final round of the hoop competition, trailing the Korean rhythmic gymnast. Deng only managed to rank 43rd in the preliminary round of the rhythmic gymnastics ball competition. Sakura Hayakawa (17, Japan), and Djamila Rakhmatova (24, Uzbekistan) ranked 25th (hoop) and 16th (ball), and 30th (hoop) and 18th (ball), respectively.

It was also helpful that Son gave strong impression to judges. Most of the judges at the world championships will serve as judges at the Incheon Asian Games as well. In a Twitter post, FIG commented on Son’s performance, saying, “Very classical and elegant performance, and naturally streaming finish is very impressive.” Son’s final ranking overall in the preliminary round of the individual competition will be determined after the ribbon and club competitions set on Wednesday and Thursday. If she ranks within 24th, she will advance to the all-round finals of the individual competition.