This year, only the score in final will decide the ranking for women at this competition. With competitive youngsters like Yuki Uchiyama and Aiko Sugihara, there is no room for errors. Asuka Teramoto, Yuki Uchiyama and Aiko Sugihara, finishing in 3rd, 5th and 6th respectively in qualification were the ones without huge mistakes. 20-year-old Teramoto finally won the crown after finishing in second for two years consecutively.
Teramoto competed with watered down routines due to a torn ligament in little finger in left hand happened in the middle of March. However, consistency is the key to win and that’s what Teramoto always shows. She performed a beam routine with flic-flic-layout step layout, switch half and front aerial to side somi. With downgraded triple twist off beam in Nanning worlds last year, she seemed to give up on it and just did a 2.5 twist instead. Still, she got 14.6 with 5.9 D score. On floor, she showed a new choreography with mature movement and expression. The only glaring mistake was the deep landing on double pike dismount. Uchiyama, who had to miss two of trials for worlds last year, made a strong comeback with an upgraded bars routine containing piked circle-piked circle 1/1- Komova II-Pak combo. She needed to stay on beam where she fell on switch leap to back tuck to win. Fortunately, she survived with less confident landings here and there. Her performance on floor caught audience’s eye with elegant movement and bright facial expression. However, a deep landing and a huge step on double pike dismount affected her execution score, making her just 0.05 behind Teramoto.
Sugihara had a fall from bars in qualification but not today. She didn’t have huge wobble on beam but some broken connections and an under rotation on triple twist off beam cost her quite a bit. Her floor routine with Memmel turn, Gogean leap and well-executed tumbling passes like double tuck, and triple twist gave her a 14.45 with 5.7 D score.
Natsumi Sasada, two time Japanese champion, knocked herself out of the podium with a fall on bars and some incomplete dance elements on floor. However, she showed great fluidity and accuracy on beam, including a stuck round-off to high and well executed layout to two feet.
Koko Tsurumi, qualifying second, also made two unexpected falls from beam. She fell on layout step layout and switch ring leap. After finishing her floor routine which contains a full in, 1.5 twist to front full and double pike dismount, she couldn’t help but cry. Had she not fallen off beam, she would have taken the title. But all in all, what a comeback from Koko, who hasn’t competed in all around for about 2.5 years.
Her competitive bars routine will definitely be helpful for team Japan this year. Sakura Yumoto, who got highest beam score and finished in fourth place in qualification, fell on round off-layout today but her landings were more secure and overall she looked much more confident than she was last year. She also had a new floor music. The choreography is full and her strong expression surely got credit by judges with 8.75 E score.
Sae Miyakawa fell on both bars and beam in qualification as well as in final but her strong performance on floor and vault made up a bit for her ranking. She opened her floor routine with double layout out full out with a little bit uncontrolled landing and one foot went out of bounce. Then she nearly stuck her front layout to front double tuck and double layout. Finally, she finished her routine with double twisting double tuck with chest a bit low but she nearly stuck it. However, the counted dance elements are spilt leap 1/1, switch leap and a single turn which only worth 0.6 in total. Hence, her D score is “only” 6.2 with two H rated skills. She vaulted a Rudi and got 15.5 to finished in 7th.
Keiko Kuwashima, a dynamic tumbler from Tokyo quad, performed a DTY and a floor routine with full in, 2.5 twist to front tuck, double tuck and double pike well. She bounced back to 8th place with a steadier performance today. Yu Minobe, 25-year-old veteran, again showed her consistency on beam but a huge landing error on double pike dismount on floor and a crashed FTY cost her a lot, finishing in 9th with 54.1. two time world championships member, Mai Murakami had big wobble on beam.
On floor, she had a fall on double double and took several steps forward on triple twist. total score of 51.8 only placed her in a disappointing 21st place. The qualifying ranking through NHK Cup is the total score of qualification and final of All Japan Individual Championships and this score dividing by two plus the score in NHK Cup will decide the final ranking. Those who finish in top 5 will get the tickets to Glasgow worlds. The final spot will goes to the specialist who finishes in top 12 in NHK Cup and it will be decided at All Japan Event Championships held on Jun. 20th to 21st.
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Asuka Teramoto
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Yuki Uchiyama
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Aiko Sugihara
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Natsumi Sasada
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Koko Tsurumi
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Sakura Yumoto
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Sae Miyakawa
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Keiko Kuwashima
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Yu Minobe
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Minami Honda
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Hitomi Hatada
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Wakana Inoue
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Ayu Koike
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Rie Tokieda
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Rena Miyauchi
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Ysuha Matsumura
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Yurika Yumoto
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Akiho Sato
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Mizuho Nagai
20 Yui Terao
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Mai Murakami
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Marina Kawasaki
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Chinami Otaki
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Yuna Hiraiwa
Qualifying ranking through NHK Cup
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Asuka Teramoto
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Yuki Uchiyama
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Aiko Sugihara
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Natsumi Sasada
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Koko Tsurumi
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Sakura Yumoto
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Sae Miyakawa
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Yu Minobe
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Wakana Inoue
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Mai Murakami
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Keiko Kuwashima
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Ayu Koike
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Rie Tokieda
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Minami Honda
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Marina Kawasaki
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Hitomi Hatada
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Rena Miyauchi
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Mizuho Nagai
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Akiho Sato
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Yui Terao
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Yurika Yumoto
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Yasuha Matsumura
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Chinami Otaki
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Yuna Hiraiwa
Article: Peggy Peng
Photo cover: source
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