The dream of International Men's Rhythmic Gymnastic Opens came true, the dream for years by many fans of Men's RG, in the 56 th National Championships.

Four countries from overseas (the USA, Canada, Korea, Malaysia) and Japan attended the competition. The first half of Individual all-around final was held on day 1, and the second half of the Individual and group on day 2.

In the individual competition, Japanese occupied a high rank as expected, but Foog Kok Seng, from Malaysia, put up a good fight.

On Stick, he received the highest score 9.200. His performance was not at all inferior to that of the Japanese. He trained in Japan last year. The reason for his success is that he was coached by Kotaro Yamada and also stayed at Mr. Yamada's home.

On the other hand, Raman Moore, from USA, was the most popular. He has a sense of jump, flexibility, technique, and he seems to enjoy performing his routine. When he finished his routine, he never forgot to give his smile to the audience; that's the reason for his popularity.

On Group, Malaysia was the only country which attended from overseas, so it was a battle between Japan (Aomori University) and the Malaysian national team.

Malaysia was ready for the game under Nemoto, the Malaysians' coach. The competition hall was full of people and passion. It was very impressive because everybody gave a big cheer to the groups and Individual gymnasts.

A meeting of Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics was held to encourage the spread of this sport to the rest of the world. Every country which attended the meeting was positive and earnest about the sport. They also wanted to know when the next competition would be held.

Giving special thanks

We could hold the International Open competition this time, because many fans gave us warm support and cooperation. In my opinion, the wish of the fans came true. Also we must not forget the four coaches who are coaching overseas. I offer deep thanks and I hope that Men's Rhythmic Gymnastic will be spread over the world, be performed in many countries and develop. I hope that fans will continue to give us their warm support. Thank you very much.

Introduction of Support Coaches

USA Takeshi Kigaku
Canada Kazuki Morita
Malaysia Masaki Nemoto
Korea Toshi Inomata

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