Giant leap
Artistic gymnastics is one of the most admired sports the world over. The elegance and panache with which gymnasts execute their routine is a treat to watch. However, unfortunately, India has never been able to set the stage on fire in this discipline. It was only when Ashish Kumar won bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and Guangzhou Asian Games that the country started taking note of this ancient sport.
But the future may not be so bleak for the sport in the country as many promising talents are emerging from various states. One such gymnast who is making giant strides in this physically demanding sport is Vijayawada-based K.V. Suresh.
The 20-year-old recently won gold medals in the horizontal bar and team events at the Senior National Gymnastics Championship held in Haryana. He also bagged silver medals in pommel horse, table vault and bronze in parallel bars — a collection that helped him claim silver in the overall individual championship.
Born and brought up in Vijayawada, Suresh, who is pursuing his Bachelor of Commerce in the SRR and CVR Government College, began learning the nuances of the sport at the age of 11. “My father, K. Srinivasa Rao, was a long-distance runner. So he encouraged me to get into sports. And gymnastics instantly caught my attention with its spectacular manoeuvres,” says Suresh.
“Then I started training under Ram Mohan sir (Y. Ram Mohan) at the SAI centre in Vijayawada. Two years later, I won gold medals in horizontal bar, pommel horse and team championship at the South Zone Sub-junior gymnastics meet,” Suresh added.
He had also won bronze in the high bar and team events at the National Games in Jharkhand in 2011 — an achievement that helped him bag `2.85 lakh as per the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh guidelines. Suresh currently trains at the SAI Hyderabad centre under P. Ravindra Kumar as the coach at the Vijayawada centre has retired. “I have been here for 10 months now. The hostel facilities here are much better. Also, the other athletes here are very friendly,” says Suresh, who trains for six hours daily at the centre.
“The only issue being here is, I have to travel all the way back to Vijayawada to write my exams and such. But I am not complaining. I am ready to do anything to achieve my goal — to win a medal for India.”
But Suresh quickly adds that to fulfill his dreams, many more national and international camps will have to be organised. “If we train only at the SAI centre here, we wouldn’t know the level of competition we are set to face. There should be as many national and international camps in a year,” he said.
For now, this highly-focused youngster, who also loves watching Telugu movies, is targeting a podium place at the next Commonwealth Games as well as Asian Games.
Post new comment