Hyderabad gymnast Aruna Reddy back to winning ways

The artistic gymnastics invitational tournament in Egypt last week turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Hyderabad’s 26-year-old Aruna Reddy.

"Winning two gold medals, one each on the floor and vault, at Cairo’s Haraohs Cup, is a good start for Aruna ahead of 2022," her coach Manoj Rana told Sportskeeda.

Rana has been overseeing Aruna’s training for the last three years.

According to Rana, two gold medals in the season-ending tournament sanctioned by the world gymnastics body will act as a catalyst for a good showing in the 2022 season.

Aruna, the 2018 World Cup bronze medalist, has been on and off the field due to a recurring knee injury. She underwent two knee surgeries.

She staged a return to competition in October at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, but failed to make an impact, finishing outside the top eight in the women’s vault.

Being a third reserve in the vault at the Tokyo World Championships, Aruna received an invitation to compete in Egypt, said the coach.

“Overall, it was a good performance in Egypt. We aren’t looking at the intensity, but podium finish will be a big morale booster for Aruna,” said Rana.

"Our main aim is to build a solid platform for the 2022 season. A podium finish at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games is our main goal. At the same time, we don’t want to rush back to hard training, but will focus on implementing difficult tasks as we make progress," he added.

"In the build up to the Commonwealth Games, the plan is to compete at the four World Cups as it offers valuable world ranking points. The 2022 season is important for improving global ranking points in order to stay in the race to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," Rana concluded.