Dragulescu, Little head Doha star cast

Romanian giant Marian Dragulescu, winner of more than two dozen Olympic medals, and Australian 2010 CW Games delight Emily Little will headline the Doha cast at next week's FIG Artistic World Cup leg to be held at Aspire Academy.
Hungary’s 2012 Olympic champion Krisztian Berki, the pommel horse powerhouse, and Romanian veteran Catalina Ponor, who has featured in three Olympic Games, will also be part of the competitions at the March 22-25 event, organisers confirmed yesterday.
More than 240 gymnasts will feature at next week's FIG ART World Cup, the highest number of entries in the event's 10-year history.
Qatar will field three gymnasts Ahmed Al Dayani, Ahmed Mosa and Jana Elkeky, President of Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) Ali Al Hitmi said yesterday.
Little will lead a four-member Australian women’s team that also includes Georgia-Rose Brown, Rianna Mizzen and Emma Nedov.
Last month Little claimed gold in floor, silver in vault and a bronze medal in balance at the Melbourne leg of the FIG World Cup.
Armenia's Harutyun Medinyan and Artur Davtyan, who had competed at the Rio Games last year, are also headed to Doha for the hugely popular FIG event.
“The QGF wants to produce another successful event like the previous nine editions," Al Hitmi said during a press conference yesterday.
"It’s a major competition which has been held also in Cottbus (Germany), Melbourne (AUS) and Baku (Azerbaijan).
"The past tournaments have helped us in a big way to understand the intricacies involved in hosting a major event. We’re confident to deliver the best,” Al Hitmi, who is also one of the seven FIG Executive Committee members, said.
“Doha is praised for its excellent hospitality by the athletes and various sports federation heads. The infrastructure and organisation is one of the best. We look forward to produce yet another top-class event," Al Hitmi said.
"The World Cup will be a good opportunity to develop the sport not only in the country, but also in the region. It’ll help us gain further mileage for next year’s World Championships. Our experience in hosting the annual World Cup in March will motivate us to stage one of the best events,” Al Hitmi added.
When asked about medal prospects from the three home gymnasts, Al Hitmi said: "This will be a great championship for our gymnasts to learn from. Qatari gymnasts have been preparing well. They even had training sessions with a British delegation last month."
"We will be hosting the 10th edition of the event and every year we have been fielding our own gymnasts so that they learn and improve. We have made significant progress over the years," Al Hitmi said.
"Our gymnasts know they will be up against the best in the world but we feel this is a great way to learn," he said.
"At the same time, we will wait for good results from our gymnasts," he said last week.
Al Hitmi said Arab gymnasts will also be part of the participating delegations next week.
"The distinct change in this year's edition will be the participation of gymnasts from five Arab nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan and Morocco," Al Hitmi said.
"We are looking forward to next event's championships. We feel the gymnasts would also be feeling the same way. Ours a top event on the FIG calendar. We have been handling this popular event for the last nine years and we have done well," Al Hitmi said.
"I can tell you with confidence that this tournament acts like a magnet for the world's best gymnasts. It is an event that often sets the tone for the gymnasts for the rest of the season," he said.
Abeer Ali, competition manager, said gymnasts from 30 countries are certain for the four-day event.
She said Turkey (17) and Australia (15) will have the two largest delegations in Doha next week. Delegations from Croatia (12) and China (11) are also expected to do well.