Rakesh reigns supreme in Sub-junior Nationals

Puri teenager Rakesh Kumar Patra made Orissa proud again by emerging boys` all-around champion in the 49th Junior National Gymnastics Championship, which concluded at J N Indoor Stadium here on Sunday. A junior international, Rakesh lived upto his status winning a total of five gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the five-day championship. His other four gold medals came in apparatus events, which included floor exercise, pommel horse, roman rings and horizontal bars. Maharashtra`s Rucha Devekar won the girls` all-around title and then claimed two more golds in floor exercise and uneven bars. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh boys and West Bengal girls won the team titles, scoring 352.000 and 263.700 points respectively. Results: BOYS: Team championship: 1. Uttar Pradesh, 2. Orissa, 3. West Bengal. All-around championship: 1. Rakesh Patra (Ori), 2. Iqrar Hasan (UP), 3. Gobinda Pramanick (WB). Apparatus championship: Floor exercise: 1. Rakesh Patra, 2. Chandan Pathak (UP), 3. A Gopi Kumar (AP). Pommel horse: 1. Rakesh Patra, 2. Someshwar Singh Ran (UP), 3. Aditya Singh Rana (UP). Roman rings: 1. Rakesh Patra, 2. A Gopi Kumar, 3. Gobinda Pramanick. Table Vault: 1. Iqrar Hasan, 2. Aditya Rana, 3. Rakesh Patra. Parallel bars: 1. Gobinda Pramanick, 2. A Gopi Kumar, 3. Rakesh Patra. Horizontal bars: 1. Rakesh Patra, 2. A Gopi Kumar, 3. KV Suresh (AP). GIRLS: Team championship: 1. West Bengal, 2. Andhra Pradesh, 3. Maharashtra. All-around championship: 1. Rucha Divekar (Mah), 2. B Aruna (AP), 3. Pranati Nayak (WB). Apparatus championship: Floor exercise: 1. Ruch Divekar, 2. Sayantani Sarkar (WB), 3. Dwija Asher (Mah). Table vault: 1. B Aruna, 2. Pranati Nayak, 3. Sangita Biswas (WB). Uneven bars: 1. Rucha Divekar, 2. Dwija Asher, 3. Sangita Biswas. Balancing beam: 1. Madhurima Adak (WB), 2. Rucha Divekar, 3. Naginder Kaur (Pun).