Evergreen Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina dreams of Paris Olympics

HANGZHOU: Gymnast Oksana Chusovitina made her international debut for the Soviet Union, and while the country may be long gone, the 48-year-old is still going strong.

The Uzbek finished agonisingly outside the medals in fourth in the women's vault final of the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Thursday (Sep 28).

Chusovitina's presence was all the more striking because competitive gymnasts are typically young, often in their teens.

But the Uzbek does not care and has set her sights on appearing at next year's Paris Olympics, by which time she will be close to her half-century.

It would be the ninth Olympics for an athlete who won team gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games as part of the "Unified Team" that represented 12 former Soviet states.

"I was lacking a bit today, but that's okay, life's not over," Chusovitina said after the vault final, which saw her finish just 0.150 points out of the medal positions.

In comments published on the Olympics website, Chusovitina said: "The feeling is good. Unfortunately, fourth place is the nastiest place, but now I know what to do, how to work, and we will aim for the Olympic Games."

Chusovitina announced her retirement after the Tokyo Olympics two years ago but her love for gymnastics soon prompted a change of heart.

She set her first target to appear at a fifth Asian Games, although the competition was postponed by a year because of China's zero-COVID policy.

It was worth the wait when she competed on Thursday, with the Chinese fans in the arena giving her a rapturous reception.

But she was unable to jump into the medal positions ahead of North Korean pair An Chang Ok and Kim Son Hyang and China's Yu Linmin - a trio whose combined age is only 11 years older than Chusovitina's.

"I have no emotions left,"