Italian star gymnast Vanessa Ferrari and her teammates were whetting up their skills and expecting good performance in the Beijing Olympic Games, Italian head coach Enrico Casella said on Wednesday.
"The girls have prepared for the Olympics for four years. They are ready to give a demonstration of what we have done at home. It is possible to achieve some good things," Casella said.
On the medal prospect of the Italian team, Casella explained that "we do not talk about medals but good things. First we have to go into the finals."
All Italians are watching Ferrari and that adds a lot of pressure on the former world champion. To prepare for the challenge from opponents in the women's all-around event, Ferrari has raised her difficulty level in uneven bars to 7.1 or 7.2. She can also give a lofty and quality jump on vault now.
"There is no problem with Ferrari's injury on the right hand. Her wound on Achilles tendon is also under control. Due to the time difference of six hours between China and Italy, the girls have to adapt to everything now, but Ferrari will be ready for the Olympic Games at the right time," said Casella.
Ferrari broke her right hand on the uneven bars in December 2005. The injury required surgery and she had four screws placed in her hand.
It is the first training day of the Italian women gymnasts on Wednesday after their arrival in Beijing on Sunday afternoon. Casella considered the training on Wednesday as neither not so good nor so bad.
"The girls are not so confident about their bodies due to the time difference."
Ferrari has refused to accept the interview. Casella explained that Ferrari is a quiet girl and does not like accepting interviews.
"She prefers just work and then shows the routines in the competitions," said the head coach. "But in the team she does not act like a star and has very close relations with her teammates."
Casella believed Shawn Johnson, women's all-around winner of the 2007 World Championships and all-around silver medalist of the 2005 World Championships Nastia Liukin, would be major rivals of Ferrari in the battle for the Olympic all-around title. Both Johnson and Liukin are from the United States.
The head coach said although Chinese women gymnasts have host advantage, the girls are under tremendous pressure from home fans.
Ferrari became the first Italian women all-around world champion in the 2006 World Championships in Arhus, Denmark. She won an all-around bronze in the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)