KUALA LUMPUR: Rhythmic gymnast Ng Joe Ee is set to compete against some of the biggest names in the sport at the World Championships in Spain on Aug 23-27.
Among the big names that will take to the mat in Valencia are Italy's Sofia Raffaeli and Boryana Kaleyn of Bulgaria. Qualifying slots for next year's Paris Olympics will also be on offer in Spain.
Malaysian Gymnastics Federation (MGF) will not be placing any lofty expectations on the 17-year-old in Valencia but believes the competition will give her valuable experience ahead of next month's Hangzhou Asian Games.
"She (Joe Ee) is currently undergoing a training camp after which she will fly to Spain," said MGF rhythmic gymnastics technical director Petrina Low.
"We have to be realistic (on expectations) as all the top guns are there but we do hope that she executes clean routines.
"Joe Ee's coach, Yulia Ivanova, is with her and has made some changes to her routine."
Joe Ee, who won two gold at last year's Birmingham Commonwealth Games, will head to Azerbaijan after the world meet for a two-week training camp and will travel to Hangzhou directly from there.
Despite her achievements in Birmingham, Joe Ee will travel to Hangzhou as a category "B" (self-funded or funded by association) athlete due to stricter criteria set by the Olympic Council of Malaysia.
"Under the new criteria, athletes have to be ranked among the top four in Asia to be classified as a category 'A' (fully funded by government) athlete," added Petrina.