Shek Wai-hung fulfils dream as he vaults to gymnastics gold at World Cup in Croatia
- The 27-year-old Asian Games champion beats an international field to win his first gold in the prestigious competition
- The Jakarta Games gold medallist is well on his way to qualifying for next year’s Tokyo Olympics
Hong Kong gymnast Shek Wai-hung has fulfilled a 10-year dream by winning his first World Cup gold medal after vaulting to victory in Osijek, Croatia over the weekend.
Shek is the reigning two-time Asian Games champion and it was the first time he tasted victory against a world-class field, comfortably beating Italy’s Andrea Cingolani and Israel’s Andrey Medvedev to the gold.
Shek performed a new routine and it paid off handsomely for the Jakarta Asian Games champion as he scored 14.734 points to top the final standings. Cingolani scored 14.484 points while Medvedev finished on 14.284.
The 27-year-old Shek said on his Facebook page that he had been waiting for “10 years” for World Cup gold having missed the podium in previous years. “I’ve finally been upgraded with victory in Croatia,” Shek wrote on Facebook.
“I first started competing in the World Cup series in 2009 and have never made it to the top. Finally I got it,” said the gymnast, who is well on course to make his second Olympic appearance in Tokyo next year.