After making the grade for this August’s world championships in Spain, Breanna Labadan finished eighth and last in the ball event finals with a score of 28.75 points at the close of the 14th Senior Rhytmic Gymnastics Asian Championships yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Everything seemed to be falling into place for Labadan in her routine but a costly error towards the end dragged her down the cellar.
With her face down on the mat, Labadan was unable to catch the falling ball with her legs, hitting one of her thighs and trickling away, much to the dismay of the hometown crowd who came to see her play.
Despite the mistake, the pride and joy of Butuan City, with Hungarian coach Dora Vass by her side, stood up on the side and bravely waved back to the appreciative crowd.
Uzbek sensation Takhmina Ikromova, who had led her country to retaining the team gold and successfully defended her all-around crown, added two more mints.
Ikromova captured the ball event gold with a top score of 34.55 points while compatriots Evelina Atalyants (34.05) and Elzhana Taniyeva (32.70) took the silver and bronze, respectively.
In a closely-fought contest, she also took the hoop gold (34.35) at the expense of Kazakhstan’s Taniyeva Alzhana (32.50) while China’s Wang Zilu (32.5) settled for the bronze in the tournament also backed by Sofitel, Hotel 101 and Milo.
While she was unable to fulfill her goal, Labadan’s father Arnold Labadan, embraced her daughter to help ease the pain.
“We practiced this routine in practice and was able to do it, sadly we missed it today,” Labadan said.
“This is going to be a learning experience,” he added.
To get ready for the world championships scheduled 23 to 27 August in Valencia, Spain, Labadan will set up camp in Budapest starting 20 July.
