After Heartbreaking Loss, Gymnastics World Overjoyed Over Emma Malabuyo Making Doha World Cup

The UCLA Bruins gymnastics team member, Emma Malabuyo, prioritized the NCAA championship over the Olympic qualifying through the FIG World Cup. The gymnast was so certain about her program’s success in the Regionals that in her mind she readied herself to battle the college opponents in the final, instead of the global opponents in Doha. Having already competed in Cairo and Cottbus World Cups, Emma was eager to employ all those experiences in her college game against her opponents.

However, things didn’t happen in a turn of fate. UCLA finished third (197.050) behind Denver (197.275) and Arizona State (197.150) to end their season in the NCAA Regional Second Round. After that heartbreak, Emma Malabuyo’s last update came to the delight of her fans as she hinted at her participation in the Doha World Cup.  

After losing the national gymnastics title, Emma seems to be trying to erase the sad note through her Olympic chances. In the Tokyo Olympics, the UCLA junior traveled with the team as an alternate. In the Paris Olympic year, she could earn her place in the team through a good score in the FIG World Cup. Now, Emma is on that road. A Reddit post made rounds on the Internet hyping up her chances to take part in the World Cup.

The concerned snap showcased the screenshot of an Instagram story by Emma. The caption of the post by Emma reads, “LA[emoji] Qatar”. That sent jitters among the gymnastics fans. Several of them came down to wish her. One such post commented, “I really hope things go well for her!” Soon, many such good wishes came for her on Reddit. 

The fans want Emma Malabuyo to fly higher 

Emma’s performance in the meet where UCLA lost was commendable. Although the Bruins scored just 49.075 on the bars, Emma dazzled with her performance. She tied her career-high with a 9.900, expertly sticking her full-twisting double back dismount. Even after that, the Reddit user, wife_of_makes_things argued, “How likely is it that she’ll get an Olympic spot?” The gymnast who prefers to represent the Philippines in Paris found her fans to send a rejoinder to it. 

The Reddit handle, freifraufischer claimed, “she upgraded her dance elements in Baku and it made a big difference”. Notably, in the Baku World Cup, Emma ended her floor exercise run by being fourth. So remembering that, the handle added more proof by conceding, “she should be able to drop her Cottbus result and making harder for others to pass her.” However, irrespective of her chance there in Doha, the Reddit user, OftheSea95 celebrated the endeavor. The handle added, “wishing her good luck!”

Notably, Malabuyo picked up 44 points from the World Cup for second place in the floor standings. Gymnasts earn points for an apparatus that are correlated with their placing at each meet. After the four competitions, the top two gymnasts in each event with the highest point across three meets qualify for the Olympics. As Emma prepares to qualify for Philippines, what are your thoughts for her?