Sie Yan on cloud nine after medal haul

GOLD COAST: It was a surreal experience for national gymnast Koi Sie Yan, who never expected that she would win three silver and a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games here.
The 19-year-old rhythmic gymnast had bounced back to earn the medals after a disappointment in the individual all-round event on Thursday, where she finished in eighth position.
"It never occurred to me that I could gather this many medals. Coach (Lidia Legotina) advised me to perform as usual, as if I was dancing. So I just danced without thinking about medals, because I did not want to put pressure on myself.
"The coach told me to express my feelings through the dancing, and it had a big impact on my performance today," she said, adding that she had placed too much pressure on herself during the individual all-round event.
Sie Yan had previously helped the rhythmic gymnastics team comprising herself, Amy Kwan Dict Weng and Izzah Amzan to the silver medal in the team event, while today, she picked up two silver medals in the individual ball and clubs events respectively, and a bronze in the individual ribbon event.
The gold medal in the individual ball event went to Cyprus gymnast Diamanto Evripidou, while the bronze was won by Australian, Alexandra Kiroi Bogatyreva.
In the individual clubs event, Sophie Crane of Canada won the gold medal and Evripidou won the bronze, while in the ribbon event, Malaysia won the gold medal through Amy Kwan, and silver went to Evripidou.
Sie Yan, meanwhile, admitted that the challenge in the Asian Games would be greater compared to the Commonwealth Games, as it would include gymnasts from China. — Bernama