‘I Gave My Absolute Best’: Pranati Nayak Eyes LA 2028 After Asian Games Vault Finish | Exclusive

Nagoya, Sep 25: India's Pranati Nayak finished sixth in the women's vault final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, putting together a determined performance after returning from an injury lay-off.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympian, who was India's only gymnast at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, scored 13.100 at the Rainbow Hall of the Nagoya City General Gymnasium.

The Republic of Korea's Yeo Seo-jeong, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, won the gold medal with 14.483. Korea's An Chang-ok, the Hangzhou 2023 gold medallist, took silver with 13.666, while China's Du Siyu claimed bronze with 13.450.

Pranati, a three-time Asian Championships bronze medallist in vault, produced identical scores of 12.900 with both her vaults. Both attempts carried a difficulty score of 4.4, while she received an execution score of 8.500 on each.

She was also awarded 0.20 bonus points, taking her final score to 13.100.

Pranati improves on Hangzhou finish

While she missed out on a medal, Pranati's sixth-place finish represented an improvement on her performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where she finished eighth with a score of 12.350.

The result was also significant given her recent return from an injury lay-off.

Pranati admitted that she was not even certain she would make the final before arriving in Nagoya.

"I am satisfied with my performance at the Asian Games. I gave my absolute best. Coming from an injury lay-off and competing here wasn't easy but I gave my best. I wasn't even confident if I could make it to the finals but it was the encouragement of my coach that helped me get into the finals," Pranati Nayak told myKhel in Nagoya.

The Jhargram-born gymnast, who trains at the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, said representing India at the Asian Games was a proud moment and that the experience would motivate her ahead of the next phase of her career.

"It was a proud moment for me to represent our country. I will give my best in the upcoming events and work hard on getting qualified for the LA Olympics," she added.

'She has a lot of potential: Coach

Pranati's coach Mishra also viewed the Asian Games campaign as an important learning experience.

"We will take it as a good learning curve. She has a lot of potential and we will work hard on the upcoming competitions," Mishra told myKhel.

Pranati had earlier secured her place in the eight-woman vault final on Tuesday after finishing seventh in qualification with 12.916.

She scored 13.000 with her first vault and 12.433 with her second attempt to make the medal round.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year had brought disappointment for the Indian gymnast, as she failed to qualify for the vault final.

Her return to the Asian Games final in Nagoya, therefore, marked an important step in her comeback.

A quiet day in Nagoya before heading home

With a day's break before flying back to India, Pranati planned to take some time away from gymnastics and explore Nagoya with her coach. Nagoya Castle and Sakae market were among the places on their list.

"We are returning tomorrow. So, today we are going out for some shopping and sightseeing," she said.

For Pranati, the focus now shifts towards the upcoming competitions and the longer-term goal of qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

India's only Asian Games gymnastics medal remains Ashish Kumar's bronze in the floor exercise at Guangzhou 2010. Pranati's sixth-place finish means the country's wait for another gymnastics medal at the continental showpiece continues.

But after an injury lay-off, a place in the Asian Games final and an improved finish from Hangzhou provide Pranati with another platform to build towards the next Olympic cycle.