Fitness & Wellness
Determination & Strength – India bags 2 medals at World Calisthenics Championships
A seven-member Indian contingent returned with two medals from the 2022 World Street Work Out and Calisthenics Championships held in Latvia.
Sathavati Sekhar and Siddesh Narkar won a bronze each for India at the 2022 World Street Workout and Calisthenics Championships
A week ago when India was basking in the post-Commonwealth Games glory and tackling an unfortunate FIFA ban, a seven-member contingent from the country returned with two medals from the 2022 World Street Work Out and Calisthenics Championships held in Latvia.
This was the second consecutive edition of the World Calisthenics Championships in which India finished on the podium.
A year after Monteiro Pearl clinched the bronze medal in Women's Strength, Sathyavathi Sekhar and Siddesh Narkar returned from Latvia with a medal apiece last month.
While Sathyavathi bagged the bronze medal in Women's Strength, clocking 5.00 minutes, Siddhesh matched it with the same colour in Men's Lightweight Strength by clocking 5 minutes and 30 seconds.
Earlier Sathyavathi had finished sixth in her qualification round, while Siddhesh finished fourth in men's lightweight strength qualification.
"It was always a dream to represent India and to return with a medal was just icing on the cake. I cannot put to words, how happy I am to win a World Championships medal," said Sathyavathi Sekhar, who represented India for the first time in the World Championships to The Bridge.
The Bangalore girl took to Calisthenics only two years back during the Covid-19-induced lockdown as a means to stay fit but has come a long way since.
Siddesh Narkar, on the other hand, is even newer to the sport. Hailing from a not-so-sound financial background, Narkar started the sport only a year and a half back.
"It was my first time representing India and I was determined to win a medal in Latvia. I was very nervous, but things just fell in place when it mattered," says Siddesh, who used to practice Yoga, before finding his calling in Calisthenics.
"The breathing exercises in Yoga, the tricks to control the heartbeat – all that helps me massively in Calisthenics," said Siddesh.
The Street Work Out and Calisthenics World Championships is held in three different categories – Strength, Freestyle, and Power.
While Strength and Freestyle were held for both men and women in Latvia, Power was held only for men due to the lack of women participants.
"In Freestyle, the competitors are given 2 minutes to perform various stunts using bars and they are judged for perfection, while in Power you have to perform the exercises with a certain amount of weight attached to your waist," explained Srusthi Shah – an athlete who represented India in women's freestyle in Latvia.
"In the Strength category, the competitors are required to complete a circuit of bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and others as quickly as possible. The one who completes the circuit the fastest is crowned the winner," she added.
Apart from the two medals, India also had a heartbreak, when Chirag Mayekar tied for fourth place with Dominican Republic's Carlos Espejo with 40 points in Men's Lightweight Power – just 4 points behind the bronze medal-winning Bulgarian Simeon Mihaylov.
Other Indian Results
Anirudha Koteshwar – 5th in Men's Lightweight Strength Final
Pearl Monteiro – 9th in Women's Strength Qualification
Kritarth Chauhan – 10th in Men's Middleweight Freestyle Qualification
Srusthi Shah – 7th in Women's Middleweight Freestyle Qualification
