NEW DELHI, JUN 21 (PTI): Indian gymnasts Harshit Damodaran and Akshat Bajaj scripted history by securing a gold-silver finish in the junior men’s vault event at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zunyi, China on Sunday.
Harshit topped the podium with a score of 13.649, while Akshat finished second with 13.433 in the continental competition.
Harshit produced two consistent vaults, scoring 13.866 on his first attempt, which carried a difficulty (D) score of 4.8, and 13.433 on his second vault. His combined effort earned him the top spot ahead of compatriot Akshat.
Akshat registered scores of 13.500 and 13.366 across his two vaults to finish with an average of 13.433 and secure the silver.
“It is a great achievement by the boys. They trained really well during the national camp in Bhubaneswar a month ago. As part of their preparation, I had also taken them to London. They are doing well and we hope that in 2030 Commonwealth Games, India should win medals,” India men’s artistic gymnastics coach Rakesh Patra told PTI.
“The Odisha government has supported us all throughout,” he added.
Akshat trains under coach Praveen Sharma, while Harshit is guided by Raja Babu Yadav, who oversees his athletic and sport-specific training.
Harshit and Akshat were part of the Indian junior men’s artistic gymnastics team that had secured the bronze medal in the team competition on Friday.
The focus will now shift to the women’s competition. The Asian Junior Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships is slated from June 25 to 28 in Zunyi, China.
