Story by Lim Jia Rui. Photos by Tan Jun Hui
Foo En Ning from Nanyang Girls’ High School performing in the Floor Exercise event as the judges look on. She eventually came in 1st with a score of 11.94. (Photo 1 © Tan Jun Hui)
Bishan Sports Hall, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 — The 2011 National Inter-School Artistic Gymnastics Championship saw spectacular performances — as well as unexpected accidents.
Eleanor Chua from Nanyang Girls’ High School, who had injured her ankle prior to the competition, was unable to participate in the competition when she further strained the injury during warm-up. This left the Nanyang Team with no choice but to pull out from the Team Category. Despite the loss of their teammate, the Nanyang gymnasts strived to put up the best performances they could.
Team Nanyang put up a solid performance during the floor exercise, with Foo En Ning (#4) clinching 1st with a score of 11.94. Raffles Girls’ School too put up an exemplary performance, incorporating elegant dance moves which complemented the nature of the floor exercise, portraying the gymnasts’ elegance.
This season saw many gymnasts falling off the beam during their performance. En Ning’s performance at the Balance Beam, however, was spectacular, executing perfect back somersaults and wolf jumps without falling off the beam. This placed her at the top spot of the category with a score of 12.95.
Singapore Chinese Girls’ School executed clean perfect launches from the vault, eventually clinching top in Vault with a score of 12.40.
Eleanor Chua (NYG) attempted the Uneven Bars despite her leg injury. She finished the item with the help of her coach for her landing. Although she attained a low score, her act of sportsmanship was commendable. Foo En Ning took a daring attempt, somersaulting thrice before landing. Unfortunately, her somersaults caused her to lose her footing. Despite the imperfect landing, she still managed to clinch first in the category.
En Ning eventually clinched the title of All-Round Champion, coming in 1st in Floor Exercise, 1st in Uneven Bars, 1st in Balance Beam and 3rd in Vault.
Nanyang Artistic Gymnastics also did well in the C Division National Championships, with Janessa Dai also clinching the title of All-Round Champion, with teammate Faith Zeng attaining the Individual All-round 2nd Runner-up position.
When asked how she felt about losing teammate Eleanor Chua’s presence in the championship to injury, En Ning replied: “I was actually quite prepared for it because Eleanor injured herself before the competition, and based on experience, with an injury, it will be tough to actually compete. I am very proud of Eleanor because despite the injury, she still tried and fought hard even till the end. Unfortunately, with a bad ankle, I really have to say that it was not going to be possible to compete. So I remained focused and thought of doing my best as a Nanyang Gymnastics team member for the last year.”
“To be honest, I was mentally prepared to pass up the chance to participate as a team. However, I knew that even without the team, I would have had to fight hard and compete well because I was still representing the school team. It is my last year representing Nanyang Gymnastics and I knew that even without the team, there is always the next year for the juniors to have the time of their lives,” continued En Ning.
Despite facing strong competitors from MGS, SCGS and RGS, En Ning thought her team did well.
“I personally felt that they have done a great job. All the training did pay off and I am happy and glad that they enjoyed themselves out there competing, not afraid to just do what they have been training so hard for, just performing their best and not think much of the competition between the stronger teams,” said En Ning.
On her own performance, En Ning had this to say: “I guess I am quite satisfied with my performance, but there is always room for improvement. This inter-school games is probably one of the best inter-schools I have had over the years of competing as I managed to clinch the all-round title, something that I have always thought of breaking through. So I have to say that even with the flaws through the competition, I can’t be happier with the results that I have achieved this competition and happy with my performance. Hopefully this will be a good head start for me as a motivation and encouragement to allow me to strive hard and train hard for the upcoming SEA games in November.”
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