BREANNA LABADAN earned a ticket to the world championships after salvaging ninth place in the individual all-around finals of the 14th Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The 16-year-old Labadan offset a shaky performance in hoops in scoring 110.40 points in the event organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The 5-foot-2 gymnast scored 26.10 in the hoops but had a high 29.40 in the ball that went along with 28.30 and 26.45 in the clubs and ribbon, respectively.
She finished four places better than in the 2022 edition in Pattaya, Thailand.
“Although I could have done better, I am nevertheless happy with the outcome of my performance so I can return to the worlds,” Labadan said.
Uzbekistan’s Takhmina Ikromova retained the individual all-around crown with 132.20 points followed by Kazakhstan’s Eizhana Taniyeva (128.350) and China’s Wang Zilu (121.80).
“This is her [Labadan’s] best result in the Asian championships and the best result for your country so I am very happy about her performance because last year she was 13th,” said Labadan’s Hungarian coach, Dora Vass.
“Breanna beat two South Koreans, a Taiwanese and a Malaysian which shows you how great her performance was,” Vass added.
She said that even as early as Thursday, Labadan already clinched a spot to the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships set August 23 to 27 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“My athlete was within the cut in three events—ball, clubs and ribbon—during the qualifiers that earned her another trip to the worlds,” the former Hungarian national athlete said.
Labadan said that she’s inspired for a podium finish in the ball finals set at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“I also had my best outing in the ball today so hopefully we can perform better tomorrow and finally win a medal for our country,” she said.
“We would like to congratulate Breanna for her top 10 finish in the individual all-around finals, and hopefully she will be able to do better in the ball finals tomorrow,” said GAP president Cynthia Carrion.
Image credits: Bernard Testa