KOLKATA: Pranati Nayak couldn't have hoped for better preparation ahead of the Asian Games to be held from September 23 to October 8. Being the only gymnast from the country to be currently going to the continent al games, there is understandably a lot of pressure on her shoulders, and on Saturday she showed that she is all set for the big event as she won the bronze in vault at the FIG World Challenge Cup held in Szombathely, Hungary.
Speaking to TOI, Pranati, who currently trains at the Gymnastics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, said, "It's good to win a medal at my first World Cup. I gave my best and I am now confident of doing well at the Asian Games. I have been coaching under Ashok Mishra sir for a while now and my preparation was very good."
On Saturday, Nayak first performed a Tsukahara Straight 360 with a fixed landing to earn 13.066 points and the second vault earned her 12.866. With an average score of 12.966, she was tied with Greece's Athanasia Mesiri for the third spot after the final round. But because of a better single-vault score of 13.066 to Mesiri's 13.000, she grabbed the bronze medal. Meanwhile, Greta Mayer of Hungary grabbed the gold with a score of 13.149 while Czech Republic's Alice Vlkova earned the silver with a score of 12.999.
Earlier on Friday, Nayak had qualified for the finals in the fifth spot after she achieved 12. 850 points during the qualifications even as Dipa Karmakar missed out following a ninth-spot finish.
Even as Nayak dazzled, Odisha's Rakesh Patra finished a creditable fourth in the still rings final with a score of 13.733.
