Pranati Nayak, the ace gymnast from Bengal is aiming for a better performance in the upcoming Asian Games this year under the guidance of new coach Ashok Mishra. 

The 28-year-old gymnast from Midnapore has left Kolkata SAI and settled in the recently introduced High-Performance Centre by the Odisha State government in Bhubaneswar in May this year. 

Pranati is so far the only female gymnast who has been selected in both the Federation’s list as well as cleared by the Union Sports Ministry for the Asian Games. 

The gymnast speaking to Parallel Sports over the phone from Bhubaneswar, "I was training under Lakshan sir at Kolkata SAI. But he was transferred to New Delhi after my return from the Commonwealth Games. I needed an expert who could guide me properly. So I joined HPC in Bhubaneswar.”

Pranati Nayak did not have to participate in the selection trial for the Asian Games as she earned third spot automatically for her score (44.83) in the Asian Championship in Singapore only two months ago where she reached the top eight. 

Pranati who acquired a bronze medal in the Asian Championship in Doha last year, also reached the top-eight in the last Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018. 

With just a month left for the mega-competition, Pranati is trying to strengthen her preparation by participating in the World Cup to be held in Hungary in the first week of next month. She added, "Under the guidance of Ashok sir, I am improving. I am practicing the Sukahara 720 vault here. But I will try to focus on improving my normal 360 degree which helped me to acquire a bronze medal in Doha. Let us see now."