Ahmedabad: Host India took their gold medal tally to double digits while Nepal, Japan, and the United States of America bagged a gold medal each on the third day of the inaugural World Yogasana Championships being played at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
India expectedly dominated the proceedings for the third consecutive day, winning medals in almost every event, across all age categories, and had taken their tally to 22 gold, five silver, and one bronze at the time of writing.
Argentina moved to second spot in the overall standings thanks to Nabila Sol Barraza’s two gold and two silver, while Singapore slipped to third with two gold and two bronze. Nepal were one of the biggest movers on the medals tally as they took the fourth spot with one gold, six silver, and three bronze medals.
The inaugural World Yogasana Championships is a landmark event that marks a defining moment in the evolution of the sport, transforming an ancient Indian practice into a globally competitive sporting discipline while strengthening its pathway towards recognition within the Olympic movement.
The World Yogasana Championship 2026 is supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Ministry of Ayush, Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sports Authority of Gujarat, Gujarat Tourism, and Gujarat Yogasana Sports Association – establishing Yogasana as a global sporting discipline and paving the way towards Olympic recognition.
Hosts India are fielding a 122-member contingent, with athletes competing across six age categories – Sub-Junior Men and Women (10-14 years), Junior Men and Women (14-18 years), Senior (18-28 years), Senior A (28-35 years), Senior B (35-45 years), and Senior C (45-55 years).
Ritu Mondal, who had won the country’s first gold medal in Traditional Yogasana Senior A Female category, added the team gold to her tally while Japan’s Miyoko Kusunoki (Traditional Yogasana Senior C category), Nepal’s Durga Panta (Forward Bend Senior C Female) and Kemi Blake of USA (Back Bend Senior B Male) won the gold medals to lift their respective countries on the medals tally.
Expressing her delight, an elated Ritu said, “Winning one gold was a dream come true, but winning two is beyond anything I imagined. Every sacrifice, every setback was worth it. I’m really proud of my performance, but the credit also goes to the ones who have supported me in this journey.”
RESULTS
Traditional Yogasana
Senior C Female: Gold – Miyoko Kusunoki (Japan) 58.28, Silver – Mahua Mondal (Oman) 57.34, Bronze – Amutha Rajuveloo (Romania), Tetyana Tolbatova (Netherlands) 55.97
Forward Bend individual:
Senior C Male: Gold – Dileep Kumar (India) 46.12, Silver – Rajendra Rimal (Nepal) 39.31, Bronze – Dimitriy Volkov (Russia), Sajaya Attada (USA) 33.97
Senior C Female: Gold – Durga Panta (Nepal) 44.30, Silver – Suman Yadav (India) 41.99, Bronze – Amutha Rajuveloo (Romania) 39.63, Kamini Maganlal (New Zealand) 39.63
Back Bend Individual
Senior C Male: Gold – Birendra Yadav (India) 38.85, Silver – Rajendra Rimal (Nepal) 36.81, Bronze – Takuro Sato (Japan) 32
Senior B Male: Gold – Kemi Blake (USA) 39.23, Silver – Tina Khatun (India) 38.10, Bronze – Tam Hoi Ching (Hong Kong) 36.15
Senior C Female: Gold – Gayatri Devi (India) 36.61, Silver – Januka Dhungana (Nepal) 31.14, Bronze – Kagiso Sebatana (Botswana) 30.35
Twisting Body Individual
Senior A Male: Gold – Anurag Malik (India) 42.61, Silver – Karimu Swafi (Tanzania) 39.45, Bronze – Nathaniel Tan (Singapore) 38.92
Senior A Female: Gold – Nabilla Sol Barraza (Argentina) 43.77, Silver – Seema Pawar (India) 43.30, Bronze – Misaki Yokoyama (Japan) 39.15
Senior C Female: Gold – Kudumula Vanaja (India) 42.75, Silver – Durga Panta (Nepal) 40.19, Bronze – Mahua Mondal (Oman) 39.78
Senior C Male: Gold – Inderjeet (India) 46.64, Silver – Dimitriy Volkov (Russia) 35.57, Bronze – Namaraj Dhungana (Nepal) 35.21.
(IANS)
