Olympian Pranati Nayak has been selected as India’s only gymnast for the 20th Asian Games 2026, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. Nayak, who trains at the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, will compete in the Women’s Vault and Women’s All-Around events in Artistic Gymnastics.
Her selection comes after a strong 2026 season, including a silver medal in Women’s Vault at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and gold at the 54th All India Railway Gymnastics Championship. She also represented India at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Nayak previously represented the country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
In 2025, she won bronze medals at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships and FIG Apparatus World Cup, besides securing one gold, one silver and one bronze at the 38th National Games.
In Kolkata, Nayak’s Asian Games participation is likely to add visibility to Indian women’s gymnastics and generate wider interest among sports followers and youth in the eastern region, particularly given her training base in neighbouring Odisha.
AM/NS India Director and Vice President-HR & Administration Ashutosh Telang said her selection reflected her consistency, discipline and determination. The Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre provides specialised coaching, training infrastructure and athlete support to develop high-performance gymnasts for national and international competition.