Ariha Pangambam wins India’s first-ever Asian gold in aerobic gymnastics

Ariha Pangambam made history by winning India's first-ever Asian Championships gold in senior women's individual aerobic gymnastics. The 19-year-old scored 19.100 points in the final after training for around six hours daily and drawing motivation from a previous fourth-place finish

Manila: Indian aerobic gymnast Ariha Pangambam said her historic gold medal at the Asian Aerobic Gymnastics Championships was the result of her determination to make amends after narrowly missing out on a podium finish at the previous edition, revealing that she trained for around six hours every day in preparation for the competition.

Ariha created history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Senior Women’s Individual category at the Asian Championships. She scored 19.100 points in the final held in the Philippines, including 8.650 in artistry, 7.600 in execution and 2.850 in difficulty.

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“At that moment I was totally overwhelmed. This medal means a lot to me because I really wanted to have a medal not just for myself but for our whole country,” Ariha told IANS.

The 19-year-old had finished fourth at the previous Asian Championships, missing out on a medal by a narrow margin. That disappointment became a major source of motivation as she prepared for the latest edition.

“In the previous Asian Championship, I was in fourth position just by some few points. I regretted a lot. So, I always thought that next time I need to take a medal,” she said.

“Rather than taking a medal, what I used to think is that being a performer, I always wanted the people, whether the judges or the audience, to understand what I am trying to tell with my performance. I tried to bring it on the stage, and I would say that’s how I got the medal,” she added.

The road to the historic achievement involved an intense training routine, with Ariha putting in around six hours of work every day across morning and evening sessions.

“I train for like six hours daily, morning and evening sessions. And not just that, I would say it is because of my coach and my parents as well, because without them I won’t be able to achieve this much,” Ariha said.

Her gold medal marked a landmark moment for Indian aerobic gymnastics, with the country winning its first-ever Asian Championships gold in the discipline after 10 editions of the continental competition.

Inderjeet Singh Rathour, Head of the Indian delegation, which included 50 athletes, described the achievement as a major breakthrough for the sport in India.

“It is a very big achievement because this is the 10th Asian Championship. In gymnastics, it had never happened that our national anthem has been played, so we have got the gold. This was a very big achievement for us,” Rathour told IANS.

Rathour believes the historic success could also help increase awareness and participation in aerobic gymnastics, which remains relatively less known in India compared to several other sports.

“After this, we will find that in gymnastics there will be a lot of improvements. It is not so much a known sport, but after we get something like this, a gold and big achievements, different children and different parents are always interested to adopt that game. So, we find a great future ahead for that,” he said.

Rathour also highlighted the sustained efforts behind Ariha’s development, saying the team had been working towards such a breakthrough for nearly a decade.

“As I said, we are working on this for the last 10 years. After COVID, we were also working very hard. When she was a youth, she used to play, and now she has come to the senior level. The performance and everything was up to the mark, and we have received the gold,” Rathour added.

India’s campaign in the championship also included a bronze medal in the Senior Aero Step category, giving the country a gold and a bronze from the continental event.

For Ariha, however, the gold represents more than a personal milestone. It is the culmination of the disappointment of finishing fourth at the previous edition, years of preparation, and a desire to make her performance meaningful on the biggest stage.