Pranati Nayak eyes strong return at Asian Championships

Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak is gearing up for the upcoming Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zunyi, China later this month.

The continental championship will be an important one for Pranati as the 30-year-old looks to build momentum after her return from injury.

Pranati said her focus is on improving execution and landing while gradually increasing the difficulty of her vault routines.

“We have only a few weeks before the Asian Championships. My focus is on my vault, execution and landing because the competition will be very tough,” Pranati said during an interaction facilitated by Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Last month, Pranati won a silver medal in the women's vault at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, marking her first major international competition after spending several months away from action due to an ankle injury.

She admitted there were doubts before travelling to Uzbekistan but said the silver medal has given her confidence ahead of a busy season.

“I hadn’t competed for five to six months because of the injury. The main goal in Uzbekistan was to land my vaults well and gain confidence. After that competition, I feel my fear has gone away,” she said.

Pranati is currently part of the Senior & Junior Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) national coaching camp underway at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Bhubaneswar from May 22 to June 20. The camp in Bhubaneswar has been approved at a total cost of ₹23.52 lakh and includes 21 campers comprising senior and junior gymnasts, coaches and support staff.

The Asian Championships are expected to feature some of the continent’s strongest gymnasts from China, Japan, Korea and other traditional gymnastics powers. Pranati knows she will need to increase her difficulty while maintaining clean execution for a podium finish.

“Both are important. The competition level is very high, so I need to improve my difficulty and execution together,” she said.

Meanwhile, her coach Ashok Kumar Mishra said the team is carefully managing Pranati's workload as she continues her recovery from the ankle injury suffered last year.

“Her injury is around 90 per cent healed. We are not putting too much load on her. The focus is on execution and fixed landings,” Mishra said.

“These are very tough competitions. We have all the vaults ready. We will decide the final plan just before the competition based on the competitors and her condition,” Mishra added.

For now, the plan is simple i.e to remain injury free, build confidence and arrive at the Asian Championships ready to perform.