22-Year-old gymnast won a bronze medal in the women’s vault event. No Indian woman had ever been to the podium in the Gymnastics World cup before her.
Reddy, who hails from Hyderabad, scored 13.649 average points to finish third. Slovenian Tjasa Kysslef (13.800) won the gold, and Australian Emily Whitehead (13.699) came second.
Aruna Reddy dedicated her win to her late father. She told The Indian Express, “I owe everything to him and if he'd been alive and seen me on the podium today, he'd have been so happy. He was there in my days of struggle, but couldn't watch me win.”
Source: AAP Image/ David Crosling
WAG Vault Medal Ceremony 🏅#GymnasticsWorldCup #MelbWC18 #VisitVictoria #VisitMelbourne pic.twitter.com/Hozv3xcsHX — World Cup Gymnastics (@gymworldcup) February 24, 2018
Aruna did not like gymnastic initially, but her father kept motivating her.
“Then the gold medals in nationals started coming. I started loving the sport and its movements. After every hard day, there was a medal as a prize,” said Aruna.
Aruna is 22 already and aware that she does not have much time left as a gymnast, so she wants to make the most. "The sad thing about this sport is that once you cross 23-24, it becomes difficult to do gymnastics. The body doesn't remain as flexible. A gymnast's career is short. That's why I want to make the most out of things before I turn 23," Deccan Chronicle quoted her saying.
In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Aruna said, "The sad thing about this sport is that once you cross 23-24, it becomes difficult to do gymnastics. The body doesn't remain as flexible. A gymnast's career is short. That's why I want to make the most out of things before I turn 23."
Aruna has raised the bar for herself and for Indian fans who would be waiting for her in Gold Coast Commonwealth games in April this year.
