New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) Ace Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak, who won the silver medal at the recently concluded FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent, revealed that she battled physical setbacks and overriding mental blocks ahead of the competition, and she almost lost hope, but her coach motivated her to give her best.

Returning to the international arena after a seven-month hiatus due to a severe ankle injury, three-time Asian Championship medallist Pranati’s campaign was almost derailed at the last minute by a bout of viral fever.

Reflecting on the turbulent phase leading up to the competition, Pranati confessed she had begun losing hope just as she was getting back into her rhythm after an injury setback.

“To be honest, I had a viral fever before the competition. I was getting zero on my training. Just two weeks before the competition, my preparation was going well. After getting sick, I was losing hope. My coach kept pushing me, asking, ‘Why are you giving up? You can do it’. He gave me quality training,” Pranati replied to IANS query during the media interactions felicitated by Sports Authority of India on Friday.

“Because my body was weak from the fever, we cut down on repetitions. I did what I was supposed to do at the comeptition. Normally, my repetition goes up to 17, 18, or 20 vaults. But before this competition, I only took eight chances to save my energy. I just wanted to build my confidence, land well, and make the most of the exposure. I was very happy to get the result. I just wanted to increase my confidence and land well. I wanted to use all the exposure I got ,” she added.

Pranati’s coach Ashok Kumar Mishra revealed that the path to Tashkent was riddled with obstacles, starting with a major ligament tear in her ankle last October.

Competing in the women’s vault qualification for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the Indonesia Arena last October, Pranati landed awkwardly while attempting a Tsukahara 720 Twist and withdrew from the competition before her second vault.

“She had a ligament break in her ankle, but she is a senior player with immense experience and recovered incredibly fast. She worked closely with a physiotherapist, planned her diet with a nutritionist, and consulted a mental trainer to stay sharp,” Mishra said.

The coach revealed that the injury, however, forced a complete overhaul of Pranati’s competitive calendar, ruling her out of multiple high-profile events.

“Our original target was for her to play in four World Cups, but the injury made it impossible. The next plan was the Senior Nationals, but she contracted viral fever and tonsillitis just before that, forcing her to sit out. We then requested the gymnastics federation, and keeping her caliber in mind, they cleared her to compete directly in the World Cup,” he explained.

Entering an international tournament without competitive match practice for over half a year is a daunting task for any Pranati, but Mishra remained confident in his ward’s mindset. He said, “Normally, for an athlete who hasn’t competed for six to seven months, performance is never guaranteed. But I was absolutely certain that once she was physically fit, she would give 100 per cent.”

Keeping the upcoming Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in mind, coach said the approach in Tashkent was to safeguard Parnati’s long-term fitness.

“Her injury is still only about 90 per cent healed. Because the impact of a vault landing is exceptionally high, our main goal was to protect her. We kept the training load low, avoided heavy difficulty elements, and focused entirely on clean execution and a fixed landing,” Mishra revealed.

–IANS

bc/