Latest news with #AsianGymnasticsChampionships
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
After three podium finishes at continental level, gymnast Pranati Nayak braces for Chinese challenge on vault ahead of Asian Games
She has a hat-trick of bronze medals on the vault at the Asian Gymnastics Championships, but it's the elusive gold that keeps Pranati Nayak pushing through pain, living a monkish, solitary existence with no social life in Bhubaneswar. She also has to make do with eating measured morsels to keep her weight down, so she can push through an extra half of a rotation, and do a 720 Tsukahara, rather than a 540. '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.
GMA Network
10-06-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Carlos Yulo on 2025 Asian Gymnastics Championships medal haul: ‘This comeback is personal'
Comeback is real for two-time Olympic gold medalist and gymnast Carlos Yulo. In his return to competition after the Paris Olympics last year, Yulo won one gold medal (floor exercise) and three bronze medals (individual all-around, vault) in this year's Asian Gymnastics Championships held in South Korea over the weekend. For Yulo, 'This comeback is personal.' 'I'm grateful for the chance to move again, to compete with my passion for gymnastics and to carry every lesson from the past year/s with me. This comeback is personal—it's only by grace, and with faith, patience and the right people around you, everything finds its way back,' Yulo said in his social media post on Sunday. According to Yulo, his absence from competition where he remained silent in the last ten months led to this 'growth.' 'A lot can happen in that kind of silence—so does growth. All I prayed for coming into this competition is just to be healthy, steady and get through it safely... but, God gave me so much more than I ever wished for.' Yulo then thanked those who helped him in his journey such as his coaches and teammates. 'To everyone who's supported me through the quiet season, to God be all the glory.' Carlos' girlfriend Chloe also had good words for him after his competition. 'Thank you for showing the world what quiet strength and unwavering dedication look like. And I thank the universe every day for the blessing of witnessing your journey up close,' she wrote in her post. Carlos' younger brother Eldrew also copped silver in the vault finals of the juniors tourney. —Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
08-06-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Carlos Yulo bags two more bronze medals in Asian Gymnastics Championships
Filipino Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo bagged two more bronze medals in the Asian Gymnastics Championships on Sunday. Yulo finished third in the vault finals where he got an average of 14.333 behind Iran's Olfati Mahdi (14.500) and China's Huang Mingqi (14.400). In the parallel bars finals, Yulo had a score of 14.166 behind Japan's Oka Shinnosuke (14.700) and Tsunogai Tomoharu (14.466). Yulo also competed in the horizontal bar finals where he finished seventh with a score of 12.000. Overall, Yulo had four medals in the Asian championships after his bronze medal in the individual all-around last Thursday and a gold in his pet event floor exercise last Saturday. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
08-06-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Karl Eldrew Yulo claims silver in vault finals of Asian Gymnastics juniors
Karl Eldrew Yulo bagged his own medal in the Asian Gymnastics Championships as he claimed a silver in the vault finals on Sunday. The younger Yulo had an average score of 13.850 points to finish second behind Bak Junwoo of South Korea who had 13.933. An Daegeon of South Korea finished third with 13.783. Last season, Karl Eldrew won gold in the vault event. His brother Carlos, meanwhile, copped gold in the floor exercise finals and bronze in the individual all-around. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
07-06-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Carlos Yulo wins floor exercise gold in Asian Gymnastics Championships for fourth straight year
Carlos Yulo remains as the king of floor exercise as he won gold in the said event again in this year's Asian Gymnastics Championships in South Korea. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yulo topped the eight finalists with a score of 14.600 to rule the finals. Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan placed second with 14.400, while Moon Geonyoung of South Korea finished third with 14.033. This is Yulo's fourth straight year winning gold in floor exercise as he also won in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions, and his second medal in this year's edition as he bagged bronze in individual all-around last Thursday. In last year's Paris Olympics, Yulo also won gold in the said event. Yulo also competed in the still rings finals but finished seventh with a score of 13.233. The Philippines' golden boy in gymnastics will still compete in the vault, horizontal bar, and parallel bars finals on Sunday. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
