National gymnastics: Railways win men’s team gold even as Rakesh Patra tops All-around section

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Rakesh Kumar Patra starred in the All-around section as he finished on top even as Railways clinched the gold medal on the opening day of the Senior National Artistic Gymnastics Championship at the Gymnastics Centre of the Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday.

The first day of the competition saw some enthralling performances from star gymnasts from Odisha, Railways and Services.

Railways finished on top with 293.00 points. Services recorded 292.10 to bag silver, while the hosts Odisha settled for bronze with 290.40 points.

Local hero Rakesh recorded 75.05 points to finish on top in the All-around section. He recorded 12.15 points on Floor Exercise, 11.35 on Pommel Horse, 14.15 on Rings, 12.75 on Vault, 12.20 on Parallel Bars and 12.45 on Horizontal Bars.

Reflecting on his performance on the opening day, Patra said, “I’m extremely happy to have finished on top in the All-around. This feat makes it even sweeter as I achieved it at my home, in front of my people, and at the place where I train.

“I’m thankful for the support I’ve been receiving from the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre, the Government of Odisha, the Odisha Gymnastics Association, and the Gymnastics Federation of India. I’m now looking forward to giving my best in the individual competition on the final day of the championship,” he added.

Railway’s Siddharth Verma cumulated 74.75 points to finish second, recording 11.30 on Floor Exercise, 12.90 on Pommel Horse, 12.30 on Rings, 13.55 on Vault, 12.75 on Parallel Bars and 11.95 on Horizontal Bars.

Gaurav Kumar from Services finished third with 74.65 points. He recorded 12.40 points on Floor Exercise, 11.45 on Pommel Horse, 12.55 on Rings, 12.45 on Vault, 13.25 on Parallel Bars and 12.55 on Horizontal Bars.

Olympians Dipa Karmakar and Pranati Nayak will be in action on the second day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships 2024.

–IANS