Sugihara and Kawakami Shine as Asia Opens World Cup Season in Cottbus
Asian gymnasts made a strong and composed start to the 2026 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Cottbus, Germany, with Japan leading the way through standout performances and Kazakhstan adding a podium finish.
Japan’s Aiko Sugihara delivered one of the most polished routines of the women’s finals to win the balance beam title with 14.066. She later returned to secure silver on floor exercise (13.133), combining stability, precision and expressive choreography. Her performance made her the only Asian gymnast to reach the women’s podium and confirmed her early-season form.
On the men’s side, Shohei Kawakami emerged as one of the defining figures of the competition. The Japanese gymnast captured two gold medals, winning the high bar (14.966) and parallel bars (14.866). His routines featured fluid swing, confident release elements and secure landings, making him the only male gymnast in Cottbus to claim multiple titles.
Kazakhstan also left its mark through pommel horse specialist Nariman Kurbanov, who earned bronze with a controlled routine scoring 14.933. Teammate Zeinolla Idrissov finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium and reinforcing Kazakhstan’s consistency on the apparatus.
Japan added further finalist appearances across both men’s and women’s events, highlighting the depth of its program at the start of the World Cup circuit.
The Cottbus competition opened the 2026 FIG World Cup series and provided an early indicator of form ahead of the remaining stages. With gold medals from Japan and a podium finish for Kazakhstan, Asia’s presence was firmly established from the first stop of the season.
