An upbeat mood prevails as Visakhapatnam teams shine at the recently concluded 66th School Games Federation State Meet in Kakinada. As many as 23 girls and boys from the district won medals at the meet. The girls bagged five gold, four silver and two bronze medals while the boys got one gold, two silver and nine bronze medals. The competition was held in four categories of under-14, under-17 and under-19 in rhythmic gymnastic, artistic and aerobatic gymnastic events. Among the winners, three are participating in the Sub-Junior National Gymnastic Championships being held in Kolkata this week.
The recent winning spree has given a much needed boost to the sport in Andhra Pradesh, which was reduced to a shadow of its past after the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State bifurcation.
Lack of infrastructure combined with two years of hiatus during the pandemic came as a setback. Recently, the District Sports Authority Gymnastic Coaching Centre in Pandurangapuram in Visakhapatnam was upgraded with equipment worth ₹60 lakh with the support of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. The gymnasts and the coaches are doing their best to ensure the State gymnasts get as many opportunities on the bigger stages as possible.
The Pandurangapuram centre, that was started in 2009, today trains 70 budding gymnasts under the guidance of coaches LV Ramana and SK Munowver.
“We are aiming for gold at the National Gymnastic Championship. The gymnasts are being given rigorous training to up their speed, strength, endurance, balancing ability,” says Munowver.
He feels that gymnastics isn’t getting its due because of lack of awareness and infrastructure support. “We have talents that can win competitions, but lack the opportunity. We are taking efforts to bridge that gap and bring in maximum participation from AP at the national level,” says Munowver.
