Meghna Reddy – India’s exclusive Olympic hope in gymnastics

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Bengaluru, February 17: For someone who has been training under a former world champion in the UK and the US for the last four years, Meghana Reddy has definitely proved a point. Telangana’s 19-year-old Meghna recent performance at the Commonwealth Games trials in the national capital has caught everyone’s attention. The teenager, who specialises in Rhythmic Gymnastics, made quite an impression at the Indira Gandhi Stadium by topping the charts with 54 points – a tally which is close to the score of the winner at the 2014 CWG.

A class X student of Stanley Girls High School in the city, Meghna clinched the honours by logging the highest number of points in the meet by virtue of her overall gold, two gold in hoop and clubs and a silver in the ribbon event. This also helped the State to finish overall third in the final medals tally. Meghna now dreams big to bring more laurels to the country. “My next target is to represent India in the Commonwealth and the Asian Games this year and then, ultimate goal of an Olympic gold,” she says.

Besides that, Meghna has been consistently logging scores across European competitions which are closer to those of several Olympian gymnasts and thus giving hike to India’s Olympic hopes of a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Praveena Reddy, Meghna’s mother, was a national level gymnast herself and had been training since the age of 11 years. Praveena, who now judges international gymnastic tournaments, has big dreams for her daughter.

The 19-year-old Praveena had participated at the 2016 Asian Championships but failed to secure a medal. According to Praveena, they spend Rs 2 lakh on Meghna every month which means the family must arrange Rs 24 lakh per year on her training and other paraphernalia. Among Meghana’s achievements are a bronze in the Bath Cup (UK), considered to be one of the most prestigious events.

The young achiever will soon step into the senior category and is optimistic of winning more medals even as she is scheduled to leave for a three-month training in Ukraine shortly to prepare for the senior nationalists and other invitation events. But, the sad part is, despite her impressive performances, Meghna is not listed in the Central government’s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.