No place to practice but gymnasts vault to victory

LUDHIANA: With the Punjab sports department assigning the gymnastics practice ground to handball practice, the gymnastics team in Ludhiana has not been able to practice for the last six months. Still, the team won the overall third position in the Open Punjab Junior Gymnastics Championship held in Jalandhar on November 19 and 20.
The team won as many as eight medals.Ludhiana gymnast Keshav Thakur was adjudged second best gymnast in the state and won a medal. Shiva Sharma and Prince Sharma won two team bronze medals, Keshav bagged six medals, including two gold, one silver and two bronze. He won gold medals in floor exercise and pommel horse, one silver in parlor bars and bronze in tablewalt and team medal. Thakur won a silver as overall individual runner-up.
Keshav, 17, was inspired by his father, Prem Thakur, a gymnastics coach to start gymnastics practice when he was just four years old. "My father's medals and trophies were fascinating for me. I would ask for those medals and trophies. I started accompanying my father to practice when I was very small. Gradually, I developed an interest in the sport. Now, gymnastics is everything to me," said Keshav.
Talking about his victory, Keshav said, "Obviously, I am happy. But I could have won more medals had I practised more."
In December, 2016 practice was stopped as the Pro-Kabaddi League was organized at the multipurpose hall of Guru Nanak Stadium where gymnastics is practised.
In the beginning of this year, the sports department organized Punjab state Shaheed-e-Azam games there. After that, the hall was given to handball players.
Gymnastics practice resumed after July after TOI took up the matter with the sports department. Keshav's achievements include team bronze at school national, Kolkata in 2015 and around 20 to 25 state medals.
Gymnastic coach Prem Thakur said, "Despite interrupted practice, our gymnasts have done well. Next month, they will participate in school state games to be held in Gurdaspur. I hope they win more medals."