Sofia, Apr 3 (IANS): Hosts Bulgaria won five of the eight gold medals, and the remaining three went to Uzbekistan, Italy and Poland at the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Series, which ended here.

In the individual event, Stiliana Nikolova of Bulgaria swept the gold medals in the all-around, hoop, ball, and clubs competitions, while Takhmina Ikromova of Uzbekistan took the title in the ribbon, reports Xinhua.

In the all-around and ball competitions, Nikolova was followed by Sofia Raffaeli of Italy, and Ikromova took the bronze medals. Adi Asya Katz of Israel and Raffaeli took the silver and bronze in the hoop final.

Raffaeli also took a bronze medal in the clubs final, where Eva Brezalieva of Bulgaria won the silver. Elzhana Taniyeva of Kazakhstan and Barbara Domingos of Brazil won the silver and bronze medals in the ribbon competition.

In the group event, Bulgaria won the all-around competition, followed by Israel and France. Italy grabbed the title in the five hoops final, where Israel and France took the silver and bronze medals too. And Poland won the three ribbons and two balls, followed by Greece and France.

Wang Zilu from China ranked seventh in the individual all-around competition, fourth in the ball final, and eighth in the clubs final.

The first leg of the 2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series was held in Greece in March. Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan's capital Baku, and Milan will host the other three.