If you think gymnastics is a sport for young athletes, think again. Thirty-two-year-old Odisha star Rakesh Kumar Patra proved that age is just a number by winning the mens all-around gold medal in the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship at the Gymnastics Centre in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar 2 January 2024.

Local hero Rakesh scored 75.05 points to finish on top in the all-around event. He recorded 12.15 points in floor exercise, 11.35 in pommel horse, 14.15 in rings, 12.75 in vault, 12.20 in parallel bars and 12.45 in horizontal bars.

Reflecting on his performance on the opening day, Rakesh said, "I am extremely happy to have finished on top in the all-around. This feat makes it even sweeter as I achieved it at my home, in front of my people, and at the place where I train."

Olympian Dipa Karmakar also defied age as she won the womens all-around gold medal with a total of 49.55 points. Representing her home State Tripura, 30-year-old Dipa accumulated 13.40 in vault, 10.65 in uneven bars, 13.10 in balance beam and 12.40 in floor exercise for a total of 49.55.

Expressing her delight at topping the all-around category, Dipa stated, "I`m competing in Senior Nationals after eight years, I feel great about it, and I am really happy with my today`s performance."

Siddharth Verma (Railways) and Gaurav Kumar (Services) claimed the all-around silver and bronze medal respectively in mens all-around competition. Pranati Das and Swastika Ganguly (both Railways) settled for silver and bronze respectively in womens all-around category.

Railways clinched both the mens and women gold medals in team events. Services and Odisha secured silver and for bronze medal respectively in mens team event. The silver and bronze medals in womens team events went to Maharashtra and West Bengal respectively.
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PHOTO: Rakesh Kumar Patra (Right) and Dipa Karmakar pose with     respective all-around gold medal at the the Senior National Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Bhubaneswar on 3 January 2023.