Amritsar girl shines at national, International rhythmic gymnastic tournaments

Despite financial hardships at home, 20-year-old Priti from Amritsar has made the city proud through her performances at various rhythmic gymnastics championships at the national and international level.

She took part in the 16th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championship held in Singapore this year. Earlier in the beginning of this year, she clinched a gold medal in a group event, and five bronze medals in the all-rounder category, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon events in the Third Dubai International Rhythmic Gymnastics Cup held at Dubai.

Her father, who works as a cook, is the sole bread-winner in the family of eight persons, while her mother is a home-maker. She has three brothers and two sisters. Her elder sisters Mannat and Mausam guided her to join the sport after watching the performance of a school-level team of female gymnasts. Her father took loans to arrange for funds so she could take part in international tournaments.

Priti recalls that she started playing gymnastics in Class VI, after she was selected by the Punjab State Institute for Sports (PIS), following trials conducted in Jalandhar in 2016-17. She was allotted the centre at Khalsa College Public School.

Former international gymnastic player Neetu Bala has been her coach ever since. She is currently pursuing Bachelor of Physical Education in Sports and is preparing to get a job in the government department to financially help her family.

Marking her first international tournament, she took part in the 14th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championship held in Manila, Philippines, in 2023.

She also competed in the 15th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian championship held at Uzbekistan in May-2024.

At the national level, she has managed to win a total of three gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal. She bagged the gold medals in the all-around category as well as team and clubs events. She stood second in the ball event and third in the ribbon event at the All-India Inter-University Competition held at Guru Nanak Dev University in 2024.

She had also managed to win a bronze medal at the All-India Inter-University Competition held at Panjab University in Chandigarh in 2023.

She is now aiming to take part in the Commonwealth Games, which are slated to be held in Ahmedabad in 2030 and the next edition of the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.