BENGALURU: Five enthusiastic girls from Karnataka brought laurels to the state, after they won gold medals in the 14-17 age group category at the recently held National Aerobic Championship in Jammu and Kashmir.
The glistening performances by Riyanshi Patnaik, Poorvi Boopashkumar, Vigya Gupta, Unnati Bokaria, and Nishka Bedi were nothing short of exceptional, showcasing talent, precision, and dedication that truly captivated the audience. Despite the recognition of athletes’ potential, the absence of adequate infrastructure and well-structured funding programmes remains a significant challenge.
“While gymnastics helps me stayed active, I joined it because many of us haven’t explored its full potential. It feels nice to see the fruit of my hard work and win the gold medal for two consecutive years. Now, my next goal is to qualify for the international level,” said Riyanshi.
Speaking about Riyanshi’s performance, head coach Shivraj GN said, “She is dedicated to aerobatics. Her posture and elegance in delivering the skills are near perfect. We are training her for the Junior Asian Championship which will begin in July.”
However, the escalating costs of training pose a challenge to these kids’ aspirations. “A scholarship from the government will help us live our dreams,” highlighted Poorvi.
Shivraj, who has 12 years of experience in gymnastics and runs an academy, said that gymnastics in India is still considered a group C sport. “Apart from infrastructure, we need at least 10,000 sqft area to practice. We have a long path ahead and can only appeal to the government to provide better facilities. Private academies can't provide quality training with limited resources,” he said.
Further, he alleged that when they approached Kanteerava Stadium and an indoor stadium in Koramangala (both run by the government), for a place to train athletes, they turned a deaf ear to their pleas.
“States like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Haryana are spending on junior-level gymnasts by taking care of travel expenses, tracksuits and others but in Karnataka we have very less support from the government.”
“It’s high time, the government intervened to help young athletes flourish,” said Riyanshi’s father Deepankar Patnaik.
“We understand that the main concern is not having a proper place. Therefore, the Karnataka Gymnast Association has written a letter to the Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA) to look into this matter. KOA has already assured that they will find a place in Bengaluru within a couple of months,” said C Prabhakar, president of Gymnast Association of Karnataka.