Speaking on the Nanning official website, Aliya Mustafina had a few words to say about the day's competition:
On being in the first Subdivision:
“That was our strategy, to go first and have it over and done with, so with the qualifications out of the way we can relax and see what other teams are going to do. It is just so much easier when you have already started; it takes the pressure off you.”
On the Russia team performance:
‘I am actually glad we did not hit it perfect today. Now we know what we need to fix and where we need to put in extra work. The team has now been exposed to actual competition; we got to test all the apparatus in real competition, so we can improve further for the finals.”
“We were not tasked with making it to the finals; we just had to do the program we'd tested during the actual competition.“
On Sunday's biggest difficulty:
“It is toughest to finish on the balance beam. The emotions tend to wear thin towards the end of the session and fatigue is catching up with you as well, while you have to be super-focused. That’s a tough call."
On her own performance:
“I am most happy I had a clean workout with no falls.”
On the pressure of being the team leader:
“I do not feel the pressure, in fact the very opposite. It gives me pleasure to help my teammates. It is much easier for me this way.”