Before the Rio Olympics in 2016, Gymnastics was rarely talked about sport in India. But watching gymnasts such as Dipa Karmakar throw in an exceptional performance, India raged over the sport. Since then, there have been many young talents rising in the field of gymnastics to make India proud once again.
On the occasion of Gymnastics Day, here are 3 gymnasts that have made India proud in 2019 -
1. Dipa Karmakar
Dipa, an Indian artistic gymnast, was first recognized in the Commonwealth Games of 2014 when she bagged a bronze medal. She was also the first female to qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016. Since then, this girl from Tripura has won the Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the Government of India.
2. Aruna Reddy
This 23-year-old made her mark in history by winning the bronze at the 2018 Gymnastics World Cup by being the first Indian to bag a medal in the individual category.
3. Ashish Kumar
Although the young gymnasts are taking up all the social media attention now, we can't forget that Ashish Kumar won the first-ever medal for India on an international stage. He's won medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
4. Ananya Garikipati
16-year-old, Ananya Garikipati, is the first Indian rhythmic gymnast to ever win gold, silver & special prizes in the Junior Star Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in May 2019. The competitions lasted for two weeks and were held in Moscow.
5. Pranati Nayak
India gymnastic, Pranati Nayak won a bronze medal in the women's vault event at the Senior Asian Artistic Championships which were hosted in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in June 2019.
The potential, hard work and success of these gymnasts have encouraged several others to take it up. In fact, it was just weeks ago, a video of two children who cart-wheeled their way to school went viral. The video caught everyone's attention when Nadia Comaneci tweeted about it.
Since then, Jashika Khan, 11, and Mohammad Azajuddin were summoned for trials by the regional director of SAI (Sports Authority of India) Eastern Centre. The Telegraph India also reported that the children, who currently lack any formal gymnastics training, will be offered food, accommodation, and education along with top equipment and trainers to encourage and expand their potential.
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