Jeremiah hopes to shine among the stars

Gymnast Jeremiah Loo admitted he will be a bit star-struck by his world famous rivals in Tokyo.

But for the 24-year-old Penangite who is making his Olympic debut, it's not about matching them at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.

Jeremiah, who qualified for the Olympics following his impressive performance at the 2019 World Championship in Stuttgart, just wants to stay focused and achieve his personal best in the men's all-around event.

"There will be a lot of top gymnasts there, the best of the best," he said.

Jeremiah will find himself competing against the likes of three-time world champion Zou Jingyuan of China and three-time Olympic gold-medallist Kohei Uchimura of Japan.

"I'm excited and happy that my hard work is paying off (going to the Olympics)," said Jeremiah who took up gymnastics at the age of seven, and his father was a former gymnast.

"My parents thought of going to Japan to watch me, but I told them no spectators are allowed (due to Covid-19)."

Jeremiah, who won a gold at the 2017 Sea Games, emerged 18th in the all-around event at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing. He finished 14th at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

He said the Malaysian Gymnastics Federation have not set any target for him since it is his first time at the Olympics,

"I'll try to break my personal best all-around score (76) and aim for 78," he said.