Ashish Kumar, on Friday, clinched the silver in the men's individual vault at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
In a strong field, the 19-year-old from Allahabad scored 15.312 points to end up behind Englishman Luke Folwell (15.762). The bronze went to Ian Galvan (15.037) of Canada.
After winning the bronze in floor on Thursday, Ashish had promised a medal in the vault. He was not at his best when executing his second vault (8.175) in comparison to the first (9.15). This proved decisive. “I had expected the gold, but I am happy with my performance,” he said.
“It was a gold missed than a silver gained but it has been a great experience,” said Ashish, a product of the coaching centre run by U.K. Mishra in Allahabad.
Disappointed
However, the ace gymnast was disappointed about no Indian being sent for the World championship, a qualifying event for the 2012 Olympics, to be held in Rotterdam from October 16-24.
“My difficulty level is six in floor exercise and it would have been a great learning opportunity for me to perform alongside top gymnasts of the world,” he said.
Ashish thanked foreign coach Vladimir Chertkov for his contribution. Chertkov, who had hailed Ashish's bronze medal as the ‘new chapter in Indian gymnastics,' said he was impressed with the youngster's willingness to learn.
