Tracie’s Olympic Dream Comes To An End

KUALA LUMPUR: Top artistic gymnast Tracie Ang’s dream of qualifying for the London Olympic Games is over.

Women’s artistic coach Mikhail Gutsalyuk confirmed yesterday that he had dropped Tracie from the squad for the World Championships in Tokyo next month because of her ankle injury.

The world meet is the qualifying tournament for next year’s Olympic Games in London.

In Tracie’s absence, only Farah Ann Hadi is left to carry the torch for Malaysia in the world meet.

Tracie, who injured her ankle during the Asean Schools Games in Singapore in July, was dejected at missing the opportunity to compete in her first world meet.

On the mend: Gymnast Tracie Ang is recovering from an ankle injury and has been dropped from the World Championships squad.

“The cast on my ankle has been removed but I have not fully recovered. The world meet is next month and I am still not ready. It will take some time to get back my form,” said Tracie.

“I have been undergoing a rehabilitation programme and light intensity training since injuring my ankle. I have not competed in any warm-up tournaments because of this. My ankle still hurts when I do certain exercises.

“I am sad because I have really put in a lot of effort to be ready for the world meet since the start of the year. Injuries have really been a problem for me.”

The pint-sized lass, however, does not plan to give up the sport yet.

“I still believe I can do well if I am injury-free. I will try to hang on and make a comeback,” said Tracie, who is not the first gymnast under Gutsalyuk’s charge to have suffered from injuries.

Two others in the elite team – Noor Hasleen Fatihin Hasnan and Nur Ily Ilyana Azmi – are also carrying injuries.

Earlier this year, two top gymnasts – Cheong See Teng and Chan Sau Wah – quit the national team due to persistent shoulder and ankle injuries respectively.

With the national team in such a sorry state, it’s almost impossible for Malaysia to even hope for a medal at the SEA Games in Jakarta in November.

Gymnastics used to be one of the big medal contributors for Malaysia in the SEA Games.

Asked if Gutsalyuk’s coaching methods were too hard on the gymnasts, thus triggering the spate of injuries among the gymnasts since he took over the national team two years ago, Malaysian Gymnastics Federation (MGF) president Datuk Dr Zakaria Ahmad said he would wait for the coach’s report first.

“Coaches are responsible for the selection of athletes for tournaments and they know best the athletes’ conditions. Mikhail is a good coach and he has done well to raise the standard of our gymnasts,” said Zakaria.

“Gymnastics, especially artistic, is an injury-prone sport. The more we try to raise the level of difficulties, the more we risk the gymnasts getting injured. Anyway, I will look into Mikhail’s report on Tracie.”

Tracie Ang (MAS) FX EF - Commonwealth Games 2010

Tracie Ang - Floor - Team - Pacific Rim Championships

Tracie, See Teng Get Chance To Impress At The World Cup

PETALING JAYA: Tracie Ang and Cheong See Teng have a chance to vault Malaysian women’s artistic gymnastics to greater heights once again after the sport has been in the doldrums for almost two years.

The duo will be out to impress the selectors at the World Cup, which will start in Paris today.

Motivated: Tracie Ang and Cheong See Teng (below, left) aim to lift Malaysian women’s artistic gymnastics out of the doldrums.

A good showing will ensure that Malaysian women gymnasts are represented in the artistic event at the Commonwealth Games in India in October.

The Paris outing is the team’s first international tournament this year.

The women’s artistic team have been in cold storage following the lack of outstanding results and the retirement of Nurul Fatiha Abdul Hamid after the 2007 SEA Games in Korat has left a huge void in the squad.

Chan Sau Wah shone briefly when she won a gold medal at the Korat SEA Games before sinking into oblivion.

Malaysian Gymnastics Federation (MGF) secretary N. Shanmugarajah said they wanted full representation at the Commonwealth Games.

“The focus may have been more on rhythmic gymnastics and the men’s artistic over the last two years. There were times when we were unable to send women’s artistic gymnasts out for competition because of a lack of depth in the team,” said Shanmugarajah.

“We hope that the situation will change this year.

“We are sending Tracie and See Teng out for the first time this year. They have done well in training and we need to gauge their performances in a competitive field.

“They need to do well so that we can justify their inclusion in the Commonwealth Games. This Games is one of our main targets this year,” said Shanmugarajah.

Both Tracie and See Teng are making a grand comeback after going through dark moments in their respective careers.

They had been bugged by a series of injuries but currently, the duo are showing better grip in their game under the guidance of Russian coach Mikhail Gutsalyuk.