
After three podium finishes at continental level, gymnast Pranati Nayak braces for Chinese challenge on vault ahead of Asian Games
'And now the Chinese have started showing up in vault which they didn't earlier,' Pranati says in mock apocalyptic tones, laughing at her luck, a month after returning from Jecheon, South Korea, with a third bronze, after Ulaanbaatar 2019 and Doha 2022. It was much before her qualification stumble at the continental championships when her three oversteppings cost her a penalty that she gleaned the competition and noticed her nemesis – the Chinese.
The global powerhouse in gymnastics aces the Floor exercise, uneven bars and balance beam, but have made headway into Vault at the Asian level, a novelty for Pranati who admits to being deflated at the literal leaps-and-bounds progress of the Chinese vaulters, who have not won a women's vault medal at the Olympics since their bronze at Beijing 2008. Sure enough, Paris Olympian Zhang Yinan took gold at Jecheon with 13.650 on the vault, closely followed by Nguyn Thi Quyhn Nhur with 13.583. Pranati averaged 13.466.
'It was tough to digest. I didn't think Chinese vaulters would be a challenge, so I will have to prepare for that before the Asian Games. In qualification when I was 4th, there was the (Uzbek, 48-year- old) legend Oksana Chusovitina, and the Vietnamese. But the Chinese had me worried,' she says. 'Qualifying was not great, I was scared.'
Attempting the Tsukahara 540 (Difficulty 5.2, like the Chinese and Vietnamese), Pranati stuttered with three oversteps and copped a penalty.
'We train on Gymnova brand apparatus. There it was Tyson, a different make of springboard. With my ankle injury, take-off on this brand was a disaster,' she explains, not as an excuse, but stating her inability on a lift-off, where she didn't gain the spring for elevation and rotations, affecting her landing.
In the finals, she had 13.666 on her first vault with Difficulty 5.2 (scoring 8.466 on Execution) and in the second, a handspring. Though her D-Score of 4.4 was higher than everyone, her 12.866 (highest and equalising Chinese score, with execution at 8.466), could not push her beyond bronze.
'Gold and silver were there for the taking but I couldn't stick a clean landing. One step I ended forward and couldn't go past 14.000,' the 30-year-old rued.
While she already has a World Cup bronze from Antalya this year, and is headed to another World Cup series in September, the training-competition balance has had to be carefully managed at her Bhubaneswar base.
'The ankle injury from two years ago is not big. But I have to manage it. It's one week of rest and strengthening and one week of vault training,' she explains, adding that she also has to undergo a bunch of ultrasound examinations for elbow and ankle issues.
Thanks to her funding from Welspun, she can access the best medical facilities at a top hospital in Odisha and a curated diet, but Pranati is aware of the challenge.
'At 30, recovery is not easy. I'm maintaining a very strict diet, measuring food, so I can be fit to give optimum results,' she says.
All junk has been out of the picture and mildly salted dry fruits are her only indulgence. 'The machines are expensive so that funding helps,' she says, as does the guidance of Ashok Mishra. While she remains India's best-performing gymnast currently, ensuring her personal coach travels (he didn't to Korea) requires funds beyond her TOPS allocation.
Being in the well-kitted-out facility means Pranati can access the ABTP (Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance) facility on campus, a huge help.
'But it's ice baths in the room and 2/3 rehab sessions at ABTP,' she says. The Shockwave therapy for muscle pain is a huge addition she has availed, but getting the peak fitness/form/ confidence and pushing technique barriers needs everything coming together. With the Chinese targeting the vault, Pranati literally has to raise her ambitions on higher Difficulty vaults with an eye on the Asian Games.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Is Shi Yuqi – with 9 titles from last 9 finals – the favourite for badminton World Championships after China Open?
Shi Yuqi remains the Chinese to be feared at the World Championships next month, and he gave enough indications partying off the challenge of former junior champion Wang Zheng Xing, winning the China Open crown 14-21, 21-14, 21-15. Shi Yuqi had silver at Nanjing World's in 2018, his only medal. In what was barely distinguishable from the Chinese National Games, 4 favourites won in four categories in All China finals, with the only interest being who would prevail in the last Super 1000 before the centrepiece World's at Paris. Though Viktor Axelsen will be itching to snap that crown at Paris, Shi Yuqi has won all three Super 1000s of this year, Malaysia, All England and now China Open until now. Moreover,the Chinese 29-year-old has won all 9 finals of Super 750 or 1000 he's contested, since January 2024. Slow to start, the World No 3 Yuqi took time to get going against the 23-year-old ranked No 22. But he had the final wrapped in 64 minutes to win his first China Open crown. 'My results at the China Open hadn't been great but I'm extremely happy to be able to win here,' Yuqi told BWF. 'Zhen Xing played well in first few rounds. His strokeplay and skills are good, and I was prepared for that today. Two sides played different and in first I was with the drift. In the second I told myself to be patient and fight every rally,' he said. China's chief contender in women's singles having superceded Chen Yufei, Wang Zhi Yi played out a dull domineering 21-8, 21-13 win against fourth seed Han Yu. Though Wang Zhi Yi alongside An Se Young are the leading contenders at the World's, Chen Yufei cannot be ruled out despite her early exits in recent tournaments. Having never won a single World title, she can be expected to preserve her energies for Paris. In doubles, the mixed section has always been a Chinese preserve, and Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping took their head to head to 11-2 against Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, 23-21, 21-17. Most of the Jiang-Wei fight dissipated after they failed to convert the 21-20 set point ceding three straight points. In women's doubles, a near 70 minute wringer, the unstoppable Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning prevailed 24-22, 17-21, 21-14. Even assuming Japanese and Koreans are biding their time, Liu-Tan look extremely tough to beat at Paris. In the only interesting category at Changzhou, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shoibul Fikri, a rejigged pairing ranked just No 210 reminded the world that the Indonesians remained formidable even if they are in a shuffling flux. Trumping the best of the Malaysians in Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-15, 21-14, the 8 match-old pairing won the China Open on a near canter. Four Indonesians are a part of Top 10, and Alfian, No 5 with Muhammad Ardianto has only last week begun playing with Fikri. But literally any of the Top 12 in men's doubles could be contending for the World title at Paris in the crowd favourite category of men's doubles. Incidentally it was the only one that featured countries besides China at China Open and kept spectators enthralled.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Humpy, Divya set to battle it out in tie-breaks as Game 2 of Women's Chess World Cup final ends in draw
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh played out a 34-move draw via three-fold repetition in the second Classical game of the all-Indian final in Batumi, Georgia, in which the former played with white pieces. The tie-breaks will be taking place on Monday. read more Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh in action during the all-Indian final of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. Image: FIDE Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh are set to battle it out in the tie-breaks in their all-Indian final at the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia after their second Classical game also ended in a draw. Humpy held Divya to a draw playing as white despite the latter enjoying a considerable time advantage over her at one stage in Game 2, with the two players shaking hands after 34 moves via a three-fold repetition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Game 2 of the all-Chinese third-place playoff between Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi was still underway with the former staging a superb comeback with white pieces after allowing her opponent to seize control with a 34th move blunder. More to follow


Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
Swimming-McIntosh motors to 400m freestyle crown at world championships
(Reuters) -World record holder Summer McIntosh stormed to the women's 400 metres freestyle world title on Sunday, making a flying start to her bid for five individual crowns at the Singapore meet as American great Katie Ledecky finished with the bronze. McIntosh's anticipated battle with Ledecky fell flat as the Canadian led from start to finish and claimed the win in 3:56.26 seconds, nearly two seconds ahead of Chinese silver medallist Li Bingjie. Ledecky was 2.23 seconds behind 18-year-old McIntosh, who exited the pool quickly to prepare for the 200 individual medley semi-finals. Triple Olympic champion McIntosh has a chance to join Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win five individual titles at a single world championships. In the men's 400 final, Lukas Maertens won an absolute humdinger of a race, nosing ahead of Sam Short in the final lap and holding off the Australian by 0.02 seconds to claim his first world title in a time of 3:42.35. Short won the event two years ago by the same margin from Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui, with Maertens claiming bronze. "I thought I'd have gone a bit faster, to be honest," said Short, who swam 3:42.07 in the heats, and dedicated the silver to his aunt who recently died of cancer. "I won two years ago by 0.02 (seconds) then I just lost by 0.02." American Gretchen Walsh, the silver medallist at the Paris Olympics, topped qualifying with Belgian Roos Vanotterdijk for the women's 100 butterfly final, both recording a time of 56.07. China's former world champion Zhang Yufei was also safely through. France's Maxime Grousset was fastest into the men's 50 butterfly (22.61) final ahead of Swiss Noe Ponti and Briton Benjamin Proud. Olympic champions Australia and the United States will battle for the women's 4x100 freestyle relay gold in the evening session, while a new-look U.S. team topped qualifying for the men's 100 relay final. Australia and China are also expected to battle for the gold in the men's relay on Sunday. (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)