Rakesh Kumar Patra finishes on top in all-around at Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship

The opening day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship saw some enthralling performances at the Gymnastics Centre in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. Odisha's Rakesh Kumar Patra starred in all-around as he finished on top, while Railways clinched the Gold medal with 293.00 points on Day 1 of the National Championship.

Services recorded 292.10 to bag Silver, while the hosts Odisha settled for Bronze with 290.40 points.

Siddhartha Das, Director, Sports & Youth Services, Odisha graced the opening ceremony as the Chief Guest. Also in attendance were Avijit Paul, Secretary, Odisha Olympic Association and officials of AM/NS India.

Local hero Rakesh recorded 75.05 points to finish on top in the all-around. He recorded 12.15 points on Floor Exercise, 11.35 on Pommel Horse, 14.15 on Rings, 12.75 on Vault, 12.20 on Parallel Bars and 12.45 on Horizontal Bars.

Reflecting on his performance on the opening day, Rakesh expressed, "I'm extremely happy to have finished on top in the all-around. This feat makes it even sweeter as I achieved it at my home, in front of my people, and at the place where I train. I'm thankful for the support I've been receiving from the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre, the Government of Odisha, the Odisha Gymnastics Association, and the Gymnastics Federation of India. I'm now looking forward to giving my best in the individual competition on the final day of the championship."

Railway's Siddharth Verma cumulated 74.75 points to finish second, recording 11.30 on Floor Exercise, 12.90 on Pommel Horse, 12.30 on Rings, 13.55 on Vault, 12.75 on Parallel Bars and 11.95 on Horizontal Bars.

Gaurav Kumar from Services finished third with 74.65 points. He recorded 12.40 points on Floor Exercise, 11.45 on Pommel Horse, 12.55 on Rings, 12.45 on Vault, 13.25 on Parallel Bars and 12.55 on Horizontal Bars.

Olympians Dipa Karmakar and Pranati Nayak will be in action on the second day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships 2024.