Dalaloyan finds redemption in world All-around victory

It’s been a drama-filled 48 hours for Artur Dalaloyan at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. On Monday in the team final, the gymnast fell off the Parallel Bars, which cost Russia a gold medal to China.Post the final, Dalaloyan was gut-wrenched, crying in a corner as he trudged off the Aspire Dome main hall. But yesterday, Dalaloyan had his redemption after he became the first Russian man to win a world championships All-around title since 1999. But it was not before he went through some anxious moments.Defending champion Xiao Ruoteng needed 14.234 in the Horizontal Bar to snatch the gold away from Dalaloyan, who had already finished his routines. As it turned out, Ruoteng fell short by .001, which resulted in a tie for the total score of 87.598 points with Dalaloyan.But the Russian walked away with gold via tiebreak after the judges threw out each gymnast’s lowest score from the six routines.There was a moment of confusion on Dalaloyan’s face, but after the Russian was announced as the winner, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and hugged his teammate Nikita Nagornyy, who took bronze in 86.331.“When I saw the results I immediately saw that No. 2 came next to (Xiao’s) name and, of course, felt happy and amazing,” Dalaloyan said, still coming to terms with his dramatic win.“I had only one goal, and that was to perform my job from beginning to end without mistakes. I was surprised and can’t say anything more. I’m just so happy. I feel good, excellent. I simply tried to put in my best. I can’t believe it yet. I need to probably go to my hotel, take a deep breath and realise that yes, I won this championship,” the 22-year-old added.Dalaloyan only said “super” when asked how he felt yesterday, after having gone through the trauma of losing the team gold to China by mere .049 on Monday. “Yesterday was an off-day for me. I tried my best not to think about it. I didn’t train yesterday, and tried to focus on the (All-around) final,” he added.While the battle for gold was expected to be between Ruoteng and Nagornyy, who had finished 1-2 in qualifications, Dalaloyan was consistent in all six of his routines.After Ruoteng took an early lead, Dalaloyan’s high class Parallel Bar routine, which fetched him 15.566 points, enabled the Russian to jump into the top of the standings by .067 going into the last piece of apparatus.In the Horizontal Bar, Dalaloyan had a relatively reserved routine, giving Ruoteng hope of retaining his title. However, the Chinese star failed to beat the required total by the narrowest of margins, leading to a short period of confusion before Dalaloyan’s name came up at the top of the scoreboard.“I feel pity about that (losing a close final), but I respect the judges and my rival. I basically want to be number one but anyway. I am still happy with the result,” Ruoteng said. “There was a little pressure, but not so much, because I know how to adjust myself and give my best. I am satisfied with my performance,” he added.When asked if he knew the score he needed to win going in as the last gymnast in the competition, Ruoteng said, “I don’t pay so much attention to that. I just be myself and try to do my best to perform my routine. When I return to training, I will try my best to improve and be stronger to perform better in future competitions.”Meanwhile, United States’ Samuel Mikulak, who was third heading into the final apparatus, had to settle for fifth position after making two significant errors in the High Bar.The American’s mistake helped Nagornyy to bronze, while China’s Sun Wei was fourth.Today, Simone Biles will be eyeing a record-breaking fourth women’s world All-around title, which would take her beyond Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina.  On Tuesday, she led the US to team gold, tying Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman for her country’s record of four Olympic/world team titles.The 21-year-old, if she was to claim two more wins in the individual apparatus this weekend, will overtake Vitaly Scherbo’s mark of 12 for the most golds in Worlds history.Final Standings1. Artur Dalaloyan (Russia) 87.598 pts2. Xiao Ruoteng (China) 87.5983. Nikita Nagornyy (Russia) 86.3314. Sun Wei (China) 85.8985. Sam Mikulak (United States) 85.2736. Kazuma Kaya (Japan) 84.7657. Kenzo Shirai (Japan) 84.5318. James Hall (Great Britain) 84.298