Challenging task ahead for Hyderabad gymnast Aruna Reddy as she prepares for Commonwealth Games
Aruna Reddy, Hyderabad’s 26-year-old 2018 World Cup bronze medalist in women’s gymnastics, will resume her normal practice this week. She had to take a break due to a minor knee injury sustained last month in Egypt.
Aruna Reddy spoke over the phone from her training base in Haryana and had this to say about her preparations.
“I hurt my right knee at the Cairo World Cup in March. But I’ve recovered fully from the injury and will start working hard for the Asian Gymnastics Championships in June.”
Aruna Reddy, who specializes in vaults, injured her right knee at last month’s Cairo World Cup in Egypt. The Indian athlete finished second in her group during the preliminary vault competition, but pulled out of the medal round as she hurt her knee.
“To avoid aggravating the injury, I was advised to withdraw from the Egypt World Cup. Since the main focus is to prepare for the Commonwealth and Asian Games, my coach didn’t want me to take risk.”
Due to injury, Aruna Reddy also missed the Baku World Cup held from March 31 to April 4 in Azerbaijan. She was replaced by Olympian Pranati Nayak in the national squad.
Aruna Reddy's prospects at Commonwealth and Asian Games
The Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) fielded national squads at Cairo and Baku World Cups to prepare gymnasts for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games.
The Cairo World Cup was the first international competition for Indian gymnasts. But the GFI didn’t field national teams for the first two World Cups in Cottbus and Doha this year.
After becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a World Cup medal in 2018, Aruna suffered injuries but made a comeback, despite being away from the competition.
Aruna had to undergo knee surgery in 2019 and 2020. But she made a comeback in October 2021 to compete at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Tokyo. However, she couldn’t make a big impact on her comeback, finishing outside the top eight in the women’s vault.
In December 2021, Aruna won four gold medals, including on the floor and vaulting table, at the Cairo International Artistic Gymnastics tournament in Egypt. She said about this event:
“The win in Egypt acted as a morale booster to prepare for the 2022 season.”
In March, despite a minor knee injury and a short break, Aruna claimed she will achieve good results at the proposed national championships in Ambala next month.
This tournament will act as a qualifying event for the Asian Gymnastics Championships in June. She concluded by saying:
“I’m totally focused on the national competition."