B'luru gymnasts put India on Asian aerobics map

Bengaluru

Aerobic gymnastics may not be an Olympic sport, but the effort required for it is among the highest in all of sport. India has lagged behind in the discipline, and almost no body here knows it exists. How ever, gymnasts from our humble city secured a fourth-place finish at the 10th Asian Aerobic Gymnastics Championship in the Philippines. The result was remarkable also because of the minimal government support that the sport and the academies that train the gymnasts receive. “It does feel a little funny, but I could say we are really, really proud of ourselves,” said Manaswi Jena, part of the five member all-girl team from Elite Squad Academy, an aerobics training facility in Bengaluru.

“Whatever facility I have in Panathur, with this, we are able to stand in fourth place on the international podium. So, if the state government or national government supports and identifies this type of talent and pushes them, we can go up to the World Championship also,” said their coach Shivaraj. The team is an enthusiastic bunch and is extremely well-bonded with each other. Their motivation is only to do their best for their country and themselves. While they have fallen in love with aerobic gymnastics, most started out in artistic gymnastics and then transitioned to aerobics. “I started at the age of 11. I was very flexible.

I didn't have a lot of strength, and I've improved a lot in that. I did artistic for maybe a year or two; I'm doing aerobics now. And I'm happy with where I've reached and want to go further ahead,” said Anagha Chitti. One aspect that the girls stressed was the support from their parents and coaches, as without government support, the athletes and their parents have to bear the brunt of all expenses. “We think what should be put into the limelight is the support from our parents. First of all, they're literally always ready to run, get our documents, send us to practice every single day. I mean, Unnati and Yukti actually travel like an hour each day.

Secondly, the coaches in Elite, they've supported us through everything. Shivaraj sir, Lalaima ma'am, Supriyo sir, Abhay sir, Bernali ma'am, Sawvik sir, all those coaches have made us come this far,” said Manaswi. The athletes also spoke about the unique difficulties that arise from competing in the sport. “I think it drains everyone men tally and physically because it's something that requires both mental and physical strength,” said Purvi. Unnathi added, “And it's not given much importance. I think compared to other sports like cricket and all, it's so unknown.” The girls called on the government to do more for the sport.

Even basic facilities and some coverage of travel costs would go a long way, they said. “We would like to call for more support from the Sports Federation of India. And I also think more recognition is required for the sport,” said Yukti Vaswani. The facilities required are also quite minimal, coach Shivaraj explained. “We require one aerobic wooden floor, that's it. Apart from that, everything is body weight. All the kids have to procure their own equipment. A good hall, 10 metres by 10 metres wooden floor is enough for this sport.

Like a basic dance floor, but it will be slightly elevated by 5 centimetres, which has a bouncy feeling,” he said. Poorvi Boopashkumar, Manaswi Jena, Unnati Bokaria, Anagha Chitti and Yukti Vaswani fell short of a podium finish by 0.85 points in the Philippines, but after this experience, they are aiming to bag many medals in the future.