Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship: Odisha's Rakesh Kumar Patra tops in all-around

Odisha's Rakesh Kumar Patra topped the all-round performance in the opening day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship at the Gymnastics Centre in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, Railways won the gold medal with 293.00 points on the first day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship. Services won the silver medal with 292.10 points, while hosts Odisha won the bronze medal with 290.40 points.

On the other hand, local guy Rakesh topped the all-around by scoring 75.05 points. He recorded scores of 12.15 on floor exercise, 11.35 on pommel horse, 14.15 on rings, 12.75 on vault, 12.20 on parallel bars and 12.45 on horizontal bars.

Siddharth Verma of Railways stood second by scoring 74.75 marks. He scored 11.30 on floor exercise, 12.90 on pommel horse, 12.30 on rings, 13.55 on vault, 12.75 on parallel bars and 11.95 on horizontal bars.

Gaurav Kumar of Services stood third with 74.65 marks. He recorded scores of 12.40 on floor exercise, 11.45 on pommel horse, 12.55 on rings, 12.45 on vault, 13.25 on parallel bars and 12.55 on horizontal bars.

Olympians Dipa Karmakar and Pranati Nayak will be in action on the second day of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship 2024. Dipa Karmakar, and Rakesh Kumar Patra have participated in National Championships after 8 years.

Siddhartha Das, Director, Sports & Youth Services, Odisha graced the opening ceremony of the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship as the Chief Guest. Also in attendance were Avijit Paul, Secretary, Odisha Olympic Association and officials of AM/NS India.

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After successfully conducting the Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship, the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, is hosting the Senior National Championship for the 2023-24. Under the aegis of the Odisha Gymnastics Association and the Gymnastics Federation of India, the championship started from 2-4 January 2024 in the state capital and features national gymnasts like Yogeshwar Singh, Tapan Mohanty, Saif Tamboli, and others.