Ashish Kumar (born 1990) is an Indian

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

from

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...

, who won India's first-ever medals in gymnastics, in October 2010 at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

and became the most successful Indian gymnast in Commonwealth Games history, by winning bronze and silver medals in different gymnastic events.

Competitive history

2006

Kumar first participated at the 2006 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships staged in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. He won the bronze medal on the Floor Exercise, tied with

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

gymnast Fadi Bahlawan. This was India's first major international medal in the history of

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

. Kumar also competed at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. He finished 18th in the individual all-around, the only final he qualified for.

2010

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games he first won a bronze medal in the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

and later a silver medal on vault, where the gold went to Luke Folwell of England, while Ian Galvan of Canada won the bronze medal. At the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Kumar won the bronze medal in the

. As of 2017, this remains India's only medal in

gymnastics at the Asian Games Gymnastics events have been contested at every Asian Games since 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. Editions Events Artistic Rhythmic Trampoline Medal table List of medalists Best results by event and nation See also * Asian Gymnastics ...

2011

At the South Central Asian Gymnastics Championships in Dhaka in December 2011 Kumar won four gold medals, in the individual all-around, floor exercise, vault and high bar events.

2014

Following a turbulent selection process which caused uncertainty about the participation of the Indian team in the Gymnastics event at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

, Kumar failed to qualify to the floor finals at the event. He finished 12th in the individual all-around.

References

External links

FIG profile

Ashish Kumar Interview
at ''

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Ashish Indian male artistic gymnasts 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Allahabad Gymnasts at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2006 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2010 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2014 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games