Diagram of a gymnast's exercises. (File photo)
[Reporter Wu Mengru/Report from Taipei] Taiwanese female athletes Pan Caichen in the uneven bars event and Li Jiawei in the floor event qualified for the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in October this year. However, they were disqualified because the Gymnastics Association unilaterally responded to the FIG World Gymnastics Federation and refused to participate. The gymnastics association issued a statement stating that it was unable to complete legal procedures within the deadline due to the tight deadline for reply, and apologized to the coach and the two athletes.
The way to obtain the women's individual qualifications for the 2026 World Championships is that after deducting the players who have qualified through the team and individual all-around, the top eight players in the five World Cup series points can obtain the individual qualifications, and Li Jiawei's floor event today The points accumulated in the 2018 World Cup series ranked 5th after deducting the qualified players. Pan Caichen ranked 8th in the uneven bars event. According to the rules, he can obtain tickets to the World Championships on a back-up basis and follow Lai Pinru and Ding Huatian to participate in the Netherlands.
However, the Gymnastics Association replied to the World Gymnastics Federation last month that they would not participate, causing the two athletes to lose their tickets. The athletes also recently complained about the matter on social media. The Gymnastics Association explained the timeline of the incident. It received the notice that Li Jiawei and Pan Caichen had obtained the quota at 4:15 a.m. on August 20, but it was limited to 5:59 a.m. on the 21st. The organizer forwarded a letter to Secretary-General Jiang Jiandong before replying whether to participate. Jiang Jiandong stated that a meeting must be held for discussion. In the end, because the reply deadline was urgent and legal procedures could not be completed within the deadline, the organizer was instructed to reply to the World Gymnastics Federation that he would not participate this year. The FIG also stated that it had received the letter and confirmed that the tickets would be given to athletes from other countries.
Although the coaches of the two athletes hoped to qualify again on August 27, the Gymnastics Association stated that after sending a letter to the World Gymnastics Federation, they received that all the quotas had been allocated to other countries, so it was determined that they were no longer eligible to compete this year. The Gymnastics Association only stated in a statement that this decision Secretary-General Jiang Jiandong acted in accordance with his duties and authority. The final responsibility lies with Chairman Gao Yuchen. He apologized to the coach and the two players, emphasizing that the outcome of this case has been decided, so he cannot reply again. He only said: "Please let the coach have suggestions for the improvement measures of the association. Please let us know at any time."
An account with the account "cww_.09" posted on Thread to the sports department from the perspective of a player, "I am 17 years old this year. I may not understand the administrative process in the association, nor how many people a decision has to go through, but I know that this is my game. This is the points I earned through my own efforts, point by point, and the qualification for the World Championships that I worked hard to achieve. However, I am After what happened, I learned that this qualification had been given up. I kept thinking, why didn't anyone ask me before I decided to give up?" She finally said sadly: "We train hard every day and strive for results for ourselves and Taiwan. But when we really get an opportunity through our own efforts, who can help us hold on to this opportunity? I stand up today not just for myself."
The suspected player made a statement on Thread. (Taken from the Internet)
