Gymnastics in Odisha is set to get a major boost with the state all set to play host to the Junior & Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships at the Gymnastics High Performance Centre, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar from 25 April to 3 May 2026.
The nine-day championships, featuring over 600 gymnasts from 25 States, three Union Territories, and the Services Sports Promotion Board, are being organised by Odisha Gymnastics Association (OGA), in collaboration with the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) and with the support of the Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS), Government of Odisha.
Competition will be held in team championships, individual all-around events, and apparatus finals across junior and senior categories. The event will be conducted on FIG-approved apparatus and will be supported by a technical panel of over 300 officials, including judges, coaches and support staff.
Prominent gymnasts, including Pranati Nayak, Tapan Mohanty, Yogeshwar Singh, Asish Kumar, Protishta Samanta, Tapeswaranath Das are expected to participate alongside emerging talents from across the country.
While briefing on the National championships at a press conference today, OGA secretary Ashok Sahoo experienced a tough time as he was grilled by media persons on the opaque functioning of the state body. He could not even provide the list of gymnasts, who have been selected to represent the host state. It was embarrassing for OGA that while the state body failed to disclose its squad, the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics HPC did it on the social media handle yesterday.
However, the organizing officials, including those from GFI and DSYS, assured that steps will be taken to address the issues afflicting governance of gymnastics in Odisha. Later in the day, OGA announced a 27-member Odisha squad, including 12 women gymnasts. But out of the 27 gymnasts, around 12 are said to be hailing from other states.
The press conference was also addressed by DSYS Additional Secretary Bijay Kumar Swain, GFI Chief Operating Officer Kallol Mukherjee, OGA executive member Dhiran Panda. DSYS OSD Dhiroj Kumar Pattnaik, National Coach Rakesh Patra, competition manager Ashok Mishra and eminent gymnast Tapan Mohanty were present on the occasion.
According to GFI COO Mukherjee performances in the National championships here will directly influence selections for major upcoming international competitions, including the Asian Championships, Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games.
ODISHA SQUAD (Gymnasts, Coaches & Officials):
Junior Women: Bhumika Reddy, Resham Khan. Coaches: Khusboo Patel, Ardhendu Das. Manager: Mira Rani Das.
Senior Women: Tannu, Priyanshi Bansal, Dhanalakshmi Rao, Adita Mondal, Ritika Das, Preeti Jhankar. Additional (Individual events only): Rashmita Behera, Aditi Todi, Harshita, Akshra Behura. Coaches: Ahmed Ally, Ankita Baidya. Manager: Moumina Banu. Head of Delegation: Guru Prasad Patnaik. State Judges: Priti Reddy, Mrinalini.
Junior Men: Biru Chandra Rao, Anshuman Sundara, Sadik Shaikh, Bibhudutta Pal, Subham Kheto, Abhijit Pradhan. Coaches: Aswini Samantaray, Mohit Manore. Manager: Debraj Das.
Senior Men: Tapan Mohanty, M Mohid Kumar, Debasish Reddy, Azad Laskar, Mrutyunjay Pattnaik, Sumit Dhali. Additional (Individual events only): Arpan Naskar, Siddhartha Parida, Alok Kumar. Coaches: Simon Moore, M Shinoj. Manager: Pabitra Mohan Mahapatra. Head of Delegation: Lalatendu Sahu. State Judges: Ramesh Behera, Pareswar Puspalak, Laxman Senapati.