Gymnastics scene in India is active but facilities are outdated

Wondering if there are people at all in India who follow this sport discipline? Contrary to what you may think, the gymnastic scene is quite active in metros of India.

Importance of Equipment

Dipa Karmakar is the first and only gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games, a bronze in 2014; but after Rio 2016 – where Karmakar performed brilliantly to finish fourth – her coach Bisweshwar Nandi had revealed how, in her formative years, he had to modify a discarded scooter seat as a vault and use crash mats instead of foam pits.

Sadly, things haven’t changed much for India’s gymnasts since then.

“It’s a big challenge if you are thinking of excelling at world level as there are few options to train in India,” says Aruna Reddy, first Indian to clinch a medal at Gymnastics World Cup.

She left Hyderabad and moved to Gdansk, Poland, to train with top gymnastic coach Andrei Levit. “The equipment there wasn’t good enough to prepare her for the upcoming World Championships, in Stuttgart”, she says.

Leszek Blanik, one of Andrei Levit’s trainees, won Olympic gold in vault at 2008 Games in Beijing. “Good result in gymnastics is possible only if the equipment is regularly upgraded. It should be done every four years (from one Olympics to another) at various training centres across the country. Otherwise, it’s a challenging task to train,” she says

Need Regional Training Centres

Experts feel there should be six to eight good training centres across India, if there has to be a steady flow of talent.

“Various types of mats, trampoline and springboards should be installed at the centre for school students. Some allied apparatus where children can perform without assistance is also helpful as they learn faster”.

Top Gymnastics Training Facilities in India

The Gymnastic Academy
The Gymnastic Academy is a 2000 sq m training facility with world class equipment (foam, rings, vaults and other gymnastics equipment), a canteen, a waiting area for guardians, and dedicated coaches.

Its located in Dhulsirus, an urban village on the outskirts of Delhi (just off a new expressway connecting Delhi to Haryana).

At the academy, you will see children tumbling, climbing ropes, and shaping themselves into handstands. In the evening, the children make way for more advanced gymnasts.

Sports Authority of India SAI training centre, Aurangabad
Many aspiring Indian gymnasts train here. However, the equipment and apparatus are very old. The multipurpose gymnastic hall doesn’t have even a foam landing pit, which makes it difficult to try out difficult routines.

Only two SAI coaches oversee more than a 100 gymnasts all by themselves.

Several Clubs are promoting gymnastics
There are a lot of clubs that have ordinary equipment, but are acting as a springboard for young gymnasts to learn the basics, from where they move on to national camps.

India’s viral gymnast kids impress Olympic Legend Nadia Comaneci

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci (first ever Olympic gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10, and the youngest all-around Olympic champion ever) have praised India’s viral gymnast kids – Jashika Khan, 11, and Mohammad Azajuddin, 12, after a video of them doing cartwheels with a bag full of books went viral.

What is even more incredible is that the kids have received no formal training in gymnastics. In fact, their stunts are part of their dance lessons which they take at a local dance institute. The video was shot by their dance teacher who then uploaded it on social media to promote his dance academy.<

Not only has the video caught the attention of Nadia Comaneci, India’s sports minister Kiren Rijiju and the state’s sports minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla also reached out to the family of the kids. Rijiju has promised financial help to encourage the kids’ gymnastic talents. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has also reached out to the kids and believe they can scale new heights with the right training, diet and facilities.

Benefits of Gymnastics 

• Provides a vigorous workout.
• Builds balance, flexibility, and co-ordination
• Exercises involve using one’s own body weight
• Requires minimum props and equipment

There are various forms of Gymnastics such as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, general gymnastics, sports acrobatics, etc. with Rhythmic Gymnastics being more popular currently in several cities.

Though we may not be anywhere close to winning medals at major international competitions yet, it can only get better from here.