Tutkhalyan and Kuksenkov for Stuttgart; Spiridonova leads the teameffort

As per the original published plans, Seda Tutkhalyan and Nikolai Kuksenkov will compete at next week's World Cup. This is a great opportunity for the gymnasts to test their early year preparations, with both gymnasts in contention for an Olympic spot. 

After Maria Kharenkova missed an appearance in Glasgow this week, thanks to what Valentina Rodionenko described - quite grumpily- as administrative problems in the processing of her visa, this will be Russia's female debut of 2016.  On the men's side, David Belyavski competed in the AA yesterday in Glasgow but had an inconsistent competition to finish well out of the medals, while British hero Max Whitlock stormed the gold.

Albert Starodubtsev's TASS report makes much of Aliya Mustafina's 'absence' from the World Cup thanks to her continuing rehab, but Russian Championships have always been planned as the gymnast's first competition this year.  It was indeed rather surprising when Valentina used Aliya's name in an impromptu release a few weeks ago, as Tutkhalyan's name has always been the only one on the roster, recovery times for Mustafina's type of knee injury are known to be fairly significant, and - surely - preserving Russia's gold potential for Rio should be a priority.  

Fans shouldn't be worried by this.  It is not a withdrawal, it's a strategy.  It is also yet another occasion on which Valentina's reported plans for Mustafina's career have proved to be untenable, questioning whether the political hold that the head coaches once had may be diminishing.  Don't get over excited about this though, as it may just as easily be a reflection of media inflation and Valentina's unerring ability to speak freely.

More interesting news is that Russia is sending a team to Stuttgart.  Led by the tough and ambitious - also the coach favourite - Daria Spiridonova, many of the younger gymnasts will get an opportunity to shine.  Most notably, Olympic hope Angelina Melnikova will compete.  We will also see Anastasia Dmitrieva, Natalia Kapitanova and Daria Skrypnik.  

This news is almost enough to make me want to book a flight to Stuttgart, but I doubt my purse could tolerate it ... However, it looks likely to be a fascinating competition for Russia.

And, just look - Russia has a reserve team!  This is fantastic news.

Source - http://tass.ru/sport/2733860