2018 Gymnastics World Cup: 3 Indians make their mark by qualifying for finals in respective categories

What's the story?

India and Gymnastics don't go hand in hand but the folks at the Gymnastics World Cup are proving that Indian athletes are very much ready to buck this negative trend.

The 2018 Gymnastics World Cup is currently being held in Melbourne, and there's everything to play for as the Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held on the Gold Coast later this year. India in particular, made their presence felt at the World Cup with Ashish Kumar qualifying in sixth place for the Vault Finals, Rakesh Kumar Patra qualifying in seventh place for the Parallel Bars finals and Aruna Budda Reddy qualifying for the Floor Finals taking impressive eighth place.

In case you didn't know...

The 2018 World Cup is being held in Australia yet again after a successful hosting of the event in 2017. Sixteen countries will feature in the event this year across two days of qualification with the top eight teams athletes on each apparatus heading to the finals, which will be held on February 24 and 25.

The heart of the matter

India's strong performance at the 2018 Gymnastics World Cup in Melbourne was highlighted by Ashish Kumar in the Vault event with an impressive 14.166 and 13.733. His performance prompted a positive response from all present at the event including the commentators for the evening. Check it out below:

"A low five from the coach... probably deserved a high five, but he might take that up with him later."Quality commentary from Sam over on our live stream 😅https://t.co/8kjOJxZJBe #GymnasticsWorldCup #MelbWC18 #VisitVictoria #VisitMelbourne pic.twitter.com/hFKtgT35lP

— World Cup Gymnastics (@gymworldcup) February 23, 2018

Other performances from the Indian contingent ensured that three athletes sailed through into the finals, raising hopes for possibly a medal finish.

What's next?

The three qualifying athletes will have their eyes set on the podium as they head to the finals which begin tomorrow.

Author's take

India will take heart from this performance and it proves that our athletes are on the right track in their preparation for upcoming events.