Harschit Damodharan and Akshat Bajaj have brought laurels for India that none have achieved so far -- finishing 1-2 in the Junior Men's Vault event at the 13th Senior and 19th Junior Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Zunyi
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MUMBAI — After the likes of Dipa Karmakar, B Aruna Reddy, Ashish Kumar, and Pranati Nayak, Indian gymnastics has discovered two new stars who have ignited hopes of medals at the Continental and World level in the future.
Harschit Damodharan and Akshat Bajaj have brought laurels for India that none have achieved so far -- finishing 1-2 in the Junior Men's Vault event at the 13th Senior and 19th Junior Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Zunyi earlier this week.
Harschit Damodharan made history on June 23 by winning a gold medal in the Junior Men's Vault event, sending a shock wave through the field as not many had expected India to win a gold medal in one of the apparatus finals.
He won the gold medal in the vault final with a score of 13.649 points, while Akshat Bajaj won silver with 13.433. Uzbekistan's Bekzad Bakhtiyarov claimed the bronze medal with 13.283 points.
The news has come in as a breath of fresh air for Indian gymnastics, as international success has eluded the country at the junior level.
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"History Created in Indian Gymnastics! For the first time, India has won a Gold Medal in Gymnastics, marking a historic milestone for Indian sports. This remarkable achievement reflects the rise of India’s sporting excellence, the dedication of our athletes, and the nation’s growing sporting culture," wrote Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva in a social media post.
"A proud moment for every Indian!" said Sachdeva, who is also an EB member of World Archery Asia, Vice-President of Delhi Olympics, and Member, DDCA, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, Harschit Damodharan's gold has signalled the break of a new dawn in Indian gymnastics, which has produced some great results in the last decade.
Before this, the likes of Dipa Karmakar, Aruna Reddy, Ashish Kumar and Pranati Nayak have won medals at the senior level at the international level. Dipa, who won gold medals in the 2018 World Cup in Mersin and 2024 Asian Championships Tashkent, made the world sit up and take note by unleashing the Produnova at the Rio Olympic in 2016, before that Ashish made history by claiming a silver and bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi; Aruna Reddy won a bronze in the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Melbourne while Pranati Nayak has won multiple silver and bronze medals in the Asian Championships and FIG World Cups in the last couple of years.
But a gold medal has eluded them -- especially the male gymnasts -- at the international level. Harschit Damodharan made that breakthrough in Zunyi.
India's gold-silver finish was a first in the history of the continental championships, and the breakthrough moment for the country's junior gymnastics programme was highlighted by the Asian Gymnastics Union on its website.
"India produced one of the headline results of the junior finals with a one-two on vault, Harschit Damodharan (13.649) edging teammate Akshat Bajaj (13.433) for gold, the Continental federation said in a report on its official website.
Delhi's Home Minister Ashish Sood too hailed their achievements. Heartiest congratulations to Harschit Damodharan on creating history by winning the Gold Medal in the Junior Men’s Vault event at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships. His remarkable achievement, along with India’s first-ever gold-silver finish in the event and a historic team bronze, is a proud moment for the nation. Wishing him continued success as he scales even greater heights and brings more glory to India," he wrote on X.
The achievement, coming on the back of the team's bronze medal finish on June 19, also highlighted the success of a training programme supported by the Odisha Government, of which both Damodharan and Bajaj are a part. The duo will now target medals in the senior events, including the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics that India is hoping to host.
Damodharan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, raised hopes by topping the qualifying rounds and lived up to the expectations with a commanding display in the final. His opening handspring front double twist was rewarded with 13.866 points, while a solid Tsukahara 720 on his second attempt helped him finish with a solid score that eventually clinched the gold medal with 13.649.
Bajaj was not far behind as he perfectly executed Tsukahara 720 and Yurchenko 720 routines to a silver medal with an average of 13.433.
The stakeholders across Indian gymnastics will now be hoping that both Harschit Damodharan and Akshat Bajaj continue in the same vein and inspire many more dreams in the future.