E-Paper
Pranati Nayak wins bronze in gymnastics at World Challenge Cup
Pranati warms up for the Asian Games in Hungary by edging out Athanasia Mesiri of Greece in a tie-break to ensure a podium finish.
Two-time Asian Championships bronze medallist Pranati Nayak tuned up for the Hangzhou Asian Games with a third-place finish at the World Challenge Cup gymnastics meet in Szombathely, Hungary.
Nayak scored 12.966 points in the vault final to be tied third, behind Hungary's Greta Mayer (13.149) and Czech Republic’s Alice Vlkova (12.999). She then edged out Greece's Athanasia Mesiri, who had also scored 12.966, in a single-vault tie-break, scoring 13.066 to Mesiri’s 13.000.
Nayak performed backward Tsukahara 720 – a half-turn off the springboard and a push off the vault table with the number denoting the degree of total rotation – and forward tuck handspring 360. The first vault yielded 13.066 points and the second 12.866 points. The aggregate is the average of the two scores.
Nayak was the lone Indian woman in action on Saturday. Dipa Karmakar had failed to qualify for the eight-woman final, which turned out to be a tight affair. Only 0.233 points separated the second-placed Vlkova and the eighth-placed Georgian Dorien Motten (12.766). The difference between winner Mayer and Motten was 0.383 points.
“It was a good final and will boost her confidence ahead of the Asian Games,” national coach Ashok Mishra said from Hungary. “We have about ten days to finetune our preparations for the Asian Games; we will go for more difficult vaults in Hangzhou.”
Nayak has regained form and fitness after a ligament tear in her right shoulder. She plans to sharpen her forward handspring 540 routine – denotes 1-½ rotation -- at the Asian Games.
