Jammu, January: With Jammu and Kashmir government recognising the efforts of a young gymnast Rudraksh Khanna and awarding him with outstanding sports person, this has motivated him to realize the dream of winning an international gold medal for the country.
In an interview with ETV Bharat, the 13-year-old boy from Jammu talks about his journey from a young boy entering the gymnastics arena for the first time and now being awarded by the J&K union territory government.
"I was yet to wake up on Republic Day when my mother came running to my room and hugged me and whispered in my ears that government has given me the outstanding sports person award for the year 2004-25. With still in deep slumber, I was not able to the get it in the first attempt but after a couple of minutes, I returned to my senses and realized that something big has happened," Rudraksh Khanna, a shy boy full but full of resolve, said.
The five feet six inches tall boy with flexibility and perfect curved body, Rudraksh Khanna is the national aerobics gymnastics champion and youth leader of the aerobics gymnastics in India, who has represented India twice in the Asian games and once in World Gymnastics Championship being organised by International Gymnastics Federation (IGF). Currently he is training for the world championship and Asian Championship and wants to win a medal for the country which was dream of his late father.
"My focus is to win an international medal and with the support of the coaches and family, I am hopeful to achieve this feat sooner or later. We don’t have any dearth of talent here and coaches are also doing their best to train us. If anything needs to be improved, it is the facility which gymnasts from other countries are getting so that we will be able to outclass them. The government is coming up with a couple of such facilities and soon the gymnasts of India will get the opportunity to excel," he said.
Till two decades ago gymnastics used to be a strange game for India, and it had a dominance of European countries and few Asian countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and others but with the passage of time and efforts of players like Krupali Singh, who is an Arjuna awardee, gymnastics has fast grown generally in India and in particularly in Jammu.
Khanna gives credit for his achievement to his coaches, Surinder Pal Singh, Krupali Singh and Manisha who are putting their best efforts to grow players like Rudraksh and others. Everyday dozens of budding gymnasts train under their leadership and Rudraksh has come through a proper procedure.
In India where people are mad after cricket, Rudraksh selecting gymnastics was a bold decision and making a name in this field has proven his decision right.
"When I first entered the Maulana Azad stadium here, my mother Seema Kharyal, who has remained a renowned national skater, wanted me to choose whatever game I wished. Gymnastics attracted me a lot because of its elegance and the fitness level gymnasts have. In early days, it was tough to cope with the training sessions where children used to cry. Many times, I felt acute pain and was not able to walk but never gave up. Since the age of six till today, gymnastics has become my passion and will continue to remain throughout my life," the national aerobics gymnastics champion said.
"In the early days of life, he passed through difficult times when during COVID-19 days his father Rajinder Kumar Khanna was infected with Corona virus and later got infected with a disease which took his life on January 27, 2023. This was the toughest time of my life so far and when my father passed away, getting along with gymnastics was difficult. But with the support of my mother, I was able to continue with the game and today my hard work is paying off,” he said.
Thanking the J&K government for giving him state award as outstanding sportsperson of J&K, Khanna said, "I am thankful to Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Chief Minister, minister for sports, J&K state sports council, my coaches, my mother and sister and all those who have supported me during my journey. This award means a lot as it will motivate me to go for the gold at international level.”
