Coimbatore girl clinches gold in artistic yoga at National Games

COIMBATORE: S Vaishnavi, a 19-year-old girl in Coimbatore, clinched gold and bronze medals at the 36th National Games held in Gujarat recently. A final year BSc visual communication student in Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science (KCLAS), Vaishnavi bagged the gold medal by performing yoga under the artistic yoga category in two minutes and 57 seconds on October 8.
She bagged a bronze medal in the artistic yoga group category during the tournament in three minutes and 58 seconds on October 11.
Speaking to TOI, Vaishnavi explained that the contestant had to perform a dancing form of yoga on an 8x8 feet stage. "A participant has to cover all corners of the stage by performing 10 yogasanas in dancing form with the compulsory forward, backward, twist, hand balance, and leg balance movements. Moreover, one must cover all the categories between 2.30 minutes and 3 minutes. These were the predefined set of rules in the tournament. I was able to perform all the asanas within the stipulated time limit because of consistent practice," she added.
A native of Tirupur currently residing in Coimbatore, Vaishnavi showed her willingness to learn yogasanas when she was nine-year-old. She said her father, G Saravana Kumar, 42, is her inspiration.