New Delhi, Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak on Saturday secured a bronze medal within the Vault Last on the FIG Creative Gymnastics Equipment World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
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The 29-year-old, who represented the nation on the Tokyo Olympics, got here up with a complete rating of 13.417 within the vault remaining to complete third, behind American duo of Jayla Dangle and Claire Pease .
“It is a great feeling to start the year with a medal. It is a good confidence booster for me. I had won last year as well, so I’m feeling really happy,” Nayak, who had scored 13.317 within the vault qualification, instructed PTI from Antalya.
“My eyes are now on winning medals at Asia Championships and World championships, that’s the target for the year,” she added.
Pranati had clinched the bronze medal within the girls’s vault occasion of the FIG Equipment World Cup in Cairo earlier than the Paris Olympics final yr.
She additionally gained vault bronze medals on the Asian Championships in 2019 and 2022 .
Nayak has battled by means of a collection of accidents and was left disheartened after lacking out on a berth for the Paris Olympics. Nevertheless, with the assist of her coach Ashok Kumar Mishra, she has regained her confidence.
“She has been with me for the last four years, and I am extremely pleased that she was able to secure a bronze medal this year after finishing third last year as well,” mentioned Mishra, who now trains athletes on the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics Excessive Efficiency Centre.
“It hasn’t been easy for her. She has struggled with injuries, including an elbow issue. There was a time when she considered retiring, but I kept encouraging her, telling her she still has much to offer. She delivered in the finals. Now our next goal is to make it to the finals of the World Championships,” he mentioned.
Pranati is the third Indian gymnast to win a global medal on the vault, after Dipa Karmakar and Aruna Reddy .
She competed on the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Video games, in addition to on the 2014 and 2018 Asian Video games. Moreover, she additionally represented the nation within the 2014, 2017, and 2019 World Championships.