Mumbai engineer Sagar Ovhalkar becomes the first Indian male to win Arjuna Award for Mallakhamb

Mumbai-based engineer and gymnast Sagar Ovhalkar has become the first Indian male to achieve the Arjuna Award for Mallakhamb. The 25-year-old Indian gymnast got the award on 30 November 2022.

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However, to achieve this big achievement, he had to work hard and the journey was not easy for him. He is the second Indian to receive this honor after 21-year-old Himani Parab. Significantly, Sagar came into the limelight by winning three gold and two silver medals at the 2019 World Mallakhamb Championships (WMC). Now he has revealed that he is preparing for the World Championship (Mallakhamb World Championship Bhutan). The tournament will organize in Bhutan next year.

"I work during the day and practice at night. I came to Jawahar Vidya Bhavan school for practice daily. It was tough to manage both sports and studies but I never gave up. My family never stopped me from playing sports and have helped me with it." Sagar said.

Apart from that, Sagar's father also revealed that Sagar got inspired to do Mallakhamb by his elder brother Rakesh Ovhalkar. "My son has a very keen interest in Mallakhamb, his brother Rakesh motivates him. He has made us proud by winning the Arjuna award. Now, we want a government job for Sagar." he said.

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Meanwhile, Sagar's head coach Sunil Gangawane also made notable revelations about the young athlete, who he has worked with since 2005. "Sagar has been devoted to the game and is very dedicated to his game (Mallakhamb ). He comes for practice irrespective of timings, family situations, etc. He is up early morning and practiced day and night to achieve the Arjuna award from our President. Our goal is to win a gold medal in the Mallakhamb World championship Bhutan. We are also preparing for Mini Olympics Krida Championship, Jalgaon Maharashtra too." Gangawane said.