Three-time Olympic champion Catalina Ponor, on a comeback trail, scooped the gold medal in the women’s beam event at the 9th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series here yesterday.
The Romanian made her much-awaited return to international competition at the Aspire Dome this week, since retiring from gymnastics following the 2012 London Games.
Ponor had returned to training a year ago with an eye on this year’s Rio Olympics but received a setback as she had to undergo surgery on an Achilles tendon, during which time she also missed Glasgow World Championships.
Ponor was the most decorated gymnast at the Athens 2004 Olympics, winning gold in the team event, floor and beam. She had also bagged silver on floor and bronze with the team in London.
Now back to full fitness, Ponor showed her class yesterday. The 28-year-old  had made it to the final with the highest score in the event and she carried on that form to take the top spot after accumulating 14.650 points The silver medal went to Brazil’s Thauany Lee de Araujo (14.150 points), and the bronze to Portugal’s Filipa Martins (13,900).
Meanwhile, the European champion Giulia Steingruber, who had finished seventh in beam, made up for that disappointment by winning gold in Floor Exercise. It was Swiss gymnast’s second gold after she had won in Vault on Friday.
She was aiming to repeat her successful campaign in Doha last year, when she had won two gold and one silver.
Steingruber was a cut above the rest in Floor, though, as she put in a immaculate routine to tally 14,700 points. She was followed by Romania’s Diana Laura Bulimar (14,125) and Hungary’s Zsofia Kovacs 13,925.
In the men’s, Azerbaijan’s Oleg Stepko also grabbed his second gold medal of the competition. Oleg, a bronze medallist in the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow and gold medallist at the European Games in Baku the same year, won parallel bars final with a total of 15,825 points
He edged out Manrique Larduet, with the Cuban sensation giving a tough time to the experienced Oleg. But the 20-year-old Larduet had to be content with a silver medal after he earned 15,775 points. Hung Phuoc Pham of Vietnam took bronze with a tally of 15,350 points.  
In the men’s vault final, Mingqi Huang of China secured gold medal with 15,200 points, while Aussie Christopher Remkes claimed silver after compiling 14,950 points. Brazil’s Diego Hypolito accumulated 14,900 points for the bronze medal.  
Japan’s Fuya Maeno was victorious in men’s horizontal bars final with a tally of 15,175 points, followed by Britain’s Ashley Watson (15, 050) and Croatia’s Marijo Moznik (15850), who earned silver and bronze medals respectively.
Organised by the Qatar Gymnastics Federation, the annual event that started in 2008 attracted more than 100 gymnasts from 33 countries this year.
Finals Results
Men’s vault

1. Mingqi Huang (China) 15,200 points
2. Christopher Remkes (Australia) 14,950
3. Diego Hypolito (Brazil) 14,900
Men’s Parallel Bars
1. Oleg Stepko (Azerbaijan) 15,825
2. Manrique Larduet (Cuba) 15,775
3. Hung Phuoc Pham (Vietnam) 15,350
Men’s Horizontal Bars
1. Fuya Maeno (Japan) 15,175
2. Ashley Watson (Britan) 15, 050
3. Marijo Moznik (Croatia) 15850
Women’s Beam
1. Catalina Ponor (Romania) 14,650
2. Thauany Lee De Araujo 14,150
3. Lee De Araujo (Portugal)   13,900
Women’s floor
1. Giulia Steingruber (Switzerland) 14,700
2. Diana Laura Bulimar (Romania) 14, 125
3. Zsofia Kovacs (Hungary) 13,925
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