MANN KOTHARI SETS SIGHTS ON NATIONAL GAMES GLORY

MUMBAI: 17-year-old gymnast Mann Kothari, touted as one of the city's most promising athletes, is gearing up to take on the best in the country at the National Games selection competition in Pune on Saturday.

Kothari, who won a gold medal in the Junior Men’s Artistic Gymnastics All-Around and Team Competitions at the recent All Age Group National Gymnastics Championship in Surat, is confident about his chances of making it to the National Games. Representing Maharashtra, Kothari secured the top spot with 71.25 points, claiming the junior national championship title.

The win has given Kothari a huge boost in his career, and he attributes it to the relentless dedication and hard work he has been putting in under coach Vishal Katakdound at the Prabodhankar Thackeray Sports Complex Elite Gymnastics Academy in Vile Parle. "Mann is putting in relentless dedication and hard work. I'm sure he is destined for much bigger things if he sustains the effort he is putting in now," said Katakdound.

Kothari's track record is impressive, with a silver medal in the 5th Khelo India Youth Games in 2023, a bronze medal in the Sub-Junior Nationals in 2019, and an all-round champion title at an Invitational Meet in Hong Kong in 2014. To further develop his skills, Kothari spent a year training at the South Essex Gymnastics Club in the United Kingdom, under the guidance of coach Anthony Wise and Olympic coach Scott Hann.

However, Kothari, who dreams of representing India in the Olympics one day, admits that there is still room for improvement. "There are two types of scores in gymnastics; one is difficulty and other is execution. So, the first thing is to build up more new skills so that my difficulty level is on par with the international standards and then to clean up the skills which is execution," says Kothari.

With his eyes fixed on the National Games, Kothari is ready to put in the extra effort required to achieve his goals. As he prepares to take on the best in the country, the sky is the limit for this talented young gymnast.