Pranati prepares for the Asian Games in Hungary by defeating Greece’s Athanasia Mesiri in a tie-break to finish on the podium.
Pranati Nayak, a two-time Asian Championships bronze medalist, prepared for the Hangzhou Asian Games by finishing third at the World Challenge Cup gymnastics competition in Szombathely, Hungary.
Nayak placed third in the vault final with 12.966 points, trailing Hungary’s Greta Mayer (13.149) and the Czech Republic’s Alice Vlkova (12.999). In a single-vault tie-break, she beat Greece’s Athanasia Mesiri, who had also scored 12.966, scoring 13.066 to Mesiri’s 13.000.
Backward Tsukahara 720 – a half-turn off the springboard and a push off the vault table with the number representing the degree of total rotation – and forward tuck handspring 360 – were performed by Nayak. The first vault was worth 13.066 points, while the second was for 12.866 points. The sum of the two scores is the aggregate.
On Saturday, Nayak was the only Indian lady in action. Dipa Karmakar had failed to qualify for the eight-woman final, which was a nail-biter. The difference between second-placed Vlkova and eighth-placed Georgian Dorien Motten (12.766 points) was only 0.233 points. The margin of victory between Mayer and Motten was 0.383 points.
She will feel more confident going into the Asian Games because of the strong final, according to national coach Ashok Mishra of Hungary. We have about ten days to perfect our preparations for the Asian Games; in Hangzhou, we’ll try harder vaults.
After suffering a ligament injury in her right shoulder, Nayak has recovered her shape and fitness. At the Asian Games, she wants to improve her forward handspring 540 routine, which represents a 1-12 rotation.
