Biru Chandra, who is also a cadet of Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics HPC, clinched the bronze medal in mens floor exercise with 12.000 points. Tamil Nadu girl Oceana Renee Thomas, also atrainee of Odisha Gymnastics HPC, won gold medal in balance beams and bronze in floor exercise.

The three-day Junior National will be followed by the Senior National Championship at the same venue from 2 to 4 January 2024. Both the National championships are being hosted by the Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS), Government of Odisha, in association with Odisha Gymnastics Association (OGA).

DSYS Director Siddhartha Das graced the opening ceremony of the Junior National Championship as chief guest on December 28. OGA General Secretary Ashok Sahoo and Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre Head Coach Ashok Mishra were present on the occasion.

DSYS Joint Secretary Sailendra Jena gave away the medals at the closing ceremony. Despite Odisha hosting the National championships, the State squad was not announced. Requests to disclose the names of the Odisha squad members fell in deaf ears.

However, according to Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics HPC, the following five male and five female gymnasts from the HPC represented Odisha in the Junior National Championship. But Oceana Thomas, another female gymnast from the Odisha HPC, represented Tamilnadu.

ODISHA HPC GYMNASTS FOR JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Female: Aditi Todi, Rashmita Behera, Priyanshi Bansal, Harshita, Pritti Jhankaar.
Male: Biruchandra Rao, Arpan Naskar, Debasis Reddy, Azad Laskar, Alok Kumar.
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TOP: Odisha bronze medal winner Biru Chandra Rao poses with HPC coach Shinoj Muliyil at the Junior National Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Bhubaneswar on 30 December 2023.
RIGHT: Odisha bronze medal winner Alok Kumar poses with coach Shinoj Muliyil at the Junior National Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Bhubaneswar on 30 December 2023.