National Games 2023: Gymnast Pranati Nayak wins fourth gold medal

Odisha gymnast Pranati Nayak won her fourth gold medal at the 37th National Games in Goa on Saturday, clinching the Women’s Artistic Balancing Beam event with 11.733 points. Pranati Das of West Bengal secured the silver medal, her fourth of the Games and Mallika Kulshreshtha of Delhi won the bronze medal.

Pranati Nayak, the West Bengal-born gymnast who represents Odisha in domestic tournaments, also won silver in Floor Exercise. The 28-year-old had earlier bagged gold medals in All-Round, Vault and Uneven Bars events.

Ashok Mishra, who is leading the Odisha gymnastics contingent at the National Games, lauded Pranati’s remarkable performance.

"Pranati has been exceptional in the competition. She missed out on a fifth gold with a very thin margin. The Government of Odisha has provided us with fantastic infrastructure for the sport. Our athletes can train and reside at the AMNS India Gymnastics High-Performance Centre, this is a compact system where they are exposed to everything they need. This includes nutrition, recovery, sports science and a strong team of coaches. It has given our athletes a massive advantage and we are grateful for the facilities," Mishra said in an interview with Sambad.

These four medals are a testament to Pranati's hard work, determination and desire to achieve success at the grandest sporting spectacle of India.