Gupta will participate in the world championships in China next year.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian American gymnast Romina Gupta, 17, based in Morgan Hill, California, has been selected for the US national team for acrobatic gymnastics, and will participate in the 2016 World Championships, to be held in China.
Gupta becomes the third Indian American gymnast to make it a US national squad, with the other two earlier winning medals at Olympic Games: Mohini Bharadwaj got a silver in the 2004 Olympics and Raj Bhavsar got an Olympics bronze in 2008, in the artistic event.
The advent of Indian American gymnasts to the US national squad, reckoned to be one of the best in the world, points to the potential which gymnasts in India too have, but are perhaps not able to achieve glory at the top level due to inadequate coaching and facilities.
Gupta who turned 17 this April, is a second generation Indian American, whose parents emigrated from Kolkata. She has been a gymnast since the age of three.
Acrobatic gymnastics, unlike the artistic version, is a team event where three women (or four men) perform flips, dances and balancing exercises without the use of equipment. After taking home gold and silver medals at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 US nationals, Romina and teammates Anika Rix and Caitlynn Guzman competed in the USA gymnastics national championships in the most competitive ‘elite’ category.
After months of hard work, the trio participated at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina, fighting for a spot on Team USA, for the world championships next year. They won.
“Being named a US national team member has been a whirlwind experience for me. I know the road to the World Championships will be tough, but I will work my hardest to fulfill my dreams,” Gupta said in an email interview, to The Times of India, who also revealed her parents are from Kolkata.
Gupta, who relishes luchi-aloor dum during her visits to Kolkata, started off as an artistic gymnast when still a toddler. But he had to give it up because of health issues. She tried diving and track athletics before she got hooked on to acrobatic gymnastics, a relatively new form that started in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and is growing in popularity.
“Romina trains for four hours a day, seven days a week. She hopes to bring the sport to India some day. She is also working on creating an NGO that can help at-risk young girls use gymnastics to gain self-esteem,” said Romina’s mother, Reenita, who went to Loreto House and St. Xaviers’ College in Kolkata.
Romina said: “I could not have done it without my family. I will not only represent the US, but Kolkata as well — and my family members who have inspired me to be what I am today.”
The teenager is looking forward to her next visit to the city of joy, reported the Times.
“The best part of walking around in Kolkata is the smell of phuchka and singara and returning to a home-cooked meal of luchi-aloor dum,” she said. “Ever since I was a baby, I have been visiting India regularly. Some of my best memories are of our Short Street home. It was where my aunt dressed me in my first saree. When I was younger, I would cry every year because I didn’t want to go back to America,” she added.
The Morgan Hill Times reported in an article in August, 2013, that Gupta after competing in acrobatic gymnastics for just six months can call herself a national champion. The article also gave an insight into the teenager’s fortitude.
In 2013, Gupta, along with her teammates, took home the gold medal from the USA Gymnastics Acrobatic National Championships in Louisville, Ky.
Gupta and her team – Anika Rix and Caitlynn Guzman – earned first place honors with a score of 26.200 out of a possible 30 points.
“We were really proud. Our goal was to hit a 26,” Gupta said.
The team beat out two others for the gold medal with just one shot to make an impression on the judges.
Gupta said they were a bit nervous because they had to go first.
“I told one of my teammates ‘we have to scare them (the competition) because now we can’t do better than them,” Gupta said.
At Oakwood High School, Gupta accomplished a lot, according to the report. She has interned for 17th Congressional District congressional candidate Ro Khanna, who will again fight elections for Congress next year.
On the team, Gupta’s role is the base. Within a three-girl team, there is a designated base, who provides a platform for the maneuvers to be performed. Then there is the middle who balances on the base and holds up the top who performs various balancing and stretching maneuvers.
“Gymnastics is such an independent sport,” Gupta was quoted as saying. “It’s all about yourself and it’s not about communicating with others or anything like that. It’s just you and your coach.”