Gymnast Shinnosuke Oka's Gloomy Face: Our Starting Point for Learning

Shinnosuke Oka's face was gloomy as he exited the competition arena. When asked for his opinion on his performance in the qualification for the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship at the Indonesia Arena Stadium, Sunday (19/10/2025), Oka admitted he was not satisfied. What the gymnast from Japan showcased was not what he had prepared and desired.

After performing on the parallel bars, Oka received a standing ovation. Her series of movements earned her a score of 14.533, with a difficulty rating of 5.6. To win a medal at a top international event, gymnasts typically need a score of between 14 and 15.

"I actually injured my back while training, so I couldn't perform at my best," said Oka during an interview in the mixed zone with a gloomy expression.

Despite the circumstances, by the end of the performance of all athletes in subdivision one, Oka's score on the parallel bars was the best among a total of 34 competing athletes. His closest competitors were fellow countrymen, namely Tomoharu Tsunogai with a score of 14.5 and Daiki Hashimoto with 14.266.

The Japanese athletes nearly dominated all apparatuses in the subdivision 1 competition. In this first-performing subdivision, there were also gymnasts from Algeria, Malaysia, Poland, Jamaica, Syria, Iran, Greece, Panama, and Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).

In the gymnastics competition, the gymnasts are divided into groups called subdivisions. Participants perform in each of these subdivisions and rotate on each apparatus. In the World Championship, there are 8 male subdivisions and 10 female subdivisions.

This means that, despite leading in subdivision 1, Oka's position is still not secure for advancing to the final. The 21-year-old gymnast must still wait for the results of 7 other subdivisions, 2 of which will only compete on Monday (20/10/2025).

There are two types of finals at the 2025 World Championships: the apparatus final and the all-around final. Only the top eight gymnasts from all subdivisions will advance to the apparatus final. For the all-around final, there is a quota of 24 athletes.

But, after this, I have to forget what happened today, then try to prepare myself again for the final.

Oka was understandably disappointed. On his specialty, the horizontal bar, Oka only scored 13.2. He achieved a score of 14.5 when he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Oka's score at this World Championship was below that of his two teammates, Tomoharu Tsunogai (14.800) and Daiki Hashimoto (14.400). This means that even if Oka had made it to the top eight, he would not have advanced to the finals as each country is limited to a maximum of two gymnasts.

However, Oka's chances of advancing to the finals were still in the balance on the parallel bars, pommel horse, and all apparatus. As the gymnasts from subdivisions 1-3 finished competing, Oka's total score of 78.731 kept her in the top 24, a position that would qualify for the finals.

"I am actually not accustomed to the equipment used. However, after this, I must forget what happened today and then strive to prepare myself again for the final," said Oka, who also participated in Jakarta in the 2018 Junior Asian Championships.

From just one athlete like Oka, the journey of getting to know artistic gymnastics can actually begin. This sport is undeniably not a popular sport in Indonesia. It is understandable that there are not many people who are yet to comprehend its competitions.

The Indonesian Gymnastics Federation even changed its name from the previously known Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) in order to reduce public misunderstandings about gymnastics. Until now, the term gymnastics has been synonymous with mass fitness activities such as Zumba.

The Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Taufik Hidayat, stated that the World Championship is the right momentum to further spread the "virus" of artistic gymnastics. The more people who become aware of the sport and its competitions, Taufik hopes that more potential gymnasts from Indonesia will emerge.

"We know that gymnastics is one of the mother sports in Indonesia. I hope that the first gymnastics world championship held in Indonesia can be a place to cultivate and develop our young athletes," said Taufik at a press conference after the opening of the World Championship.