Heena Rajgor leads India's gold rush at World Yogasana Championships 2026
Synopsis
India's Heena Rajgor — former Miss Gujarat Super Model, PhD scholar, and competitive Yogasana athlete — clinched gold at the inaugural World Yogasana Championships in Ahmedabad, headlining a day that pushed India to 40 gold medals. The event is not just a sporting contest; it is a structured bid to take an ancient Indian practice all the way to the Olympics.
Key Takeaways
Heena Rajgor of Bhuj, Gujarat won gold in Forward Bend Senior B Female with 43.50 points at the inaugural World Yogasana Championships 2026 .
India topped the medals tally with 50 medals — 40 gold, 8 silver, 2 bronze — on the penultimate day at EKA Arena, Ahmedabad .
Japan stood second with 10 medals including 3 gold ; Singapore third with 6 medals .
Hisashi Watanabe (Japan) edged India's Rohit Chavan by 0.01 points in the Supine Individual Senior B Male — the closest result of the day.
Kamolatdin Rakhmanov secured Uzbekistan's first gold of the Championships in Leg Balance Individual Senior C Male.
The championship is backed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of Ayush , with an explicit goal of Olympic recognition for Yogasana.
Heena Rajgor, a former Miss Gujarat Super Model winner and PhD scholar in Yoga from Bhuj, Gujarat, powered India's dominant gold medal charge on the penultimate day of the inaugural World Yogasana Championships 2026 at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad on Sunday, 7 June. India topped the medals tally with 50 medals — including 40 gold, eight silver, and two bronze — as the host nation continued to assert its authority over the field.
Rajgor's Gold-Medal Moment
Rajgor claimed gold in the Forward Bend — Senior B Female category with a commanding score of 43.50 points, well clear of silver medallist Preeti Jaimani of Oman (38.15). Svetlana Lukashova of Russia and Maya Al Alostath of Jordan shared the bronze with 36.96 points.
'It is always special to win a gold medal on my home turf. When I took up Yogasana competitively after Covid, I had struggled to perform in competitions. But then I worked on my mental focus and the results are definitely coming,' said Rajgor, who also maintains an active modelling career alongside her sporting and academic pursuits.
India's Dominance on Day Five
India swept multiple Artistic Single categories, with Rohan Tayade (Sub Junior Male, 110.13), Tripti Dongare (Junior Male, 112.63), Rudrakshi Bhave (Senior Female, 114.25), Arjun Parmar (Senior Male, 99.50), and Ritika Bishnoi (Junior Male, 112.88) all claiming gold. In the Supine Individual events, Nisha Chawda and Vikash Lather won gold in the Senior A Female and Male categories respectively, while Devanshi Garg took gold in Traditional Yogasana Sub Junior Female with 62.58 points.
Japan, Russia and Uzbekistan Break Through
While India dominated, other nations made their mark. Hisashi Watanabe of Japan claimed gold in Supine Individual Senior B Male with 41.79 points — edging India's Rohit Chavan by a razor-thin margin of 0.01 points. Tomoka Shimizu added a second gold for Japan in Leg Balance Individual Senior C Female (31.84). Svetlana Lukashova of Russia won the Senior B Female Supine Individual gold, and Kamolatdin Rakhmanov secured Uzbekistan's first gold of the Championships in Leg Balance Individual Senior C Male with 37.33 points. Japan's overall tally reached 10 medals including three gold, placing them second, while Singapore held third with six medals and two gold.
The Significance of the Inaugural Championship
The World Yogasana Championship 2026 is supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Ayush, Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sports Authority of Gujarat, Gujarat Tourism, and the Gujarat Yogasana Sports Association. Organisers have positioned the event as a defining step in transforming Yogasana from an ancient Indian practice into a globally competitive sporting discipline, with an explicit pathway towards Olympic recognition. This is the first time the sport has held a world championship of this scale, with nations across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas competing.
Full Results — Penultimate Day
Artistic Single: Sub Junior Male — Gold: Rohan Tayade (India) 110.13; Silver: Prayaas Chauhan (Nepal) 43.39; Bronze: Yaatheesh Krishanthan (Sri Lanka) 24.35. Junior Male — Gold: Tripti Dongare (India) 112.63; Silver: Stoian Andreea (Romania) 65.54; Bronze: Kimani Blake (USA) 57.26. Senior Female — Gold: Rudrakshi Bhave (India) 114.25; Silver: Lam Nga Man (Hong Kong) 80.83; Bronze: Chandani Pariyar (Nepal) 74.98. Senior Male — Gold: Arjun Parmar (India) 99.50; Silver: Batromeo Makumbi (Tanzania), Alan (Uzbekistan) 80.13; Bronze: Osward Lifumbe (Zimbabwe), Veron Owino (Kenya) 67.09. Junior Male — Gold: Ritika Bishnoi (India) 112.88; Silver: Sandesh Dhital (Nepal) 64.74; Bronze: Lathurshan Krishnakumar (Sri Lanka) 52.23.
Supine Individual: Senior A Female — Gold: Nisha Chawda (India) 38.92; Silver: Nabila Barraza (Argentina) 36.15; Bronze: Gwen Ong Cui Faan (Singapore), Sona Soghoyan (Armenia) 34.99. Senior A Male — Gold: Vikash Lather (India) 39.59; Silver: Karima Swafi (Tanzania) 37.92; Bronze: Shakirov Dmitrievich (Uzbekistan) 36.44. Senior B Female — Gold: Svetlana Lukashova (Russia) 38.62; Silver: Amita Kumari (India) 37.46; Bronze: Srijana Sreshta (Nepal) 36.88. Senior B Male — Gold: Hisashi Watanabe (Japan) 41.79; Silver: Rohit Chavan (India) 41.78; Bronze: Danil Rykov (Kyrgyzstan), Moataz Hindawi (Egypt) 38.82.
Traditional Yogasana: Sub Junior Female — Gold: Devanshi Garg (India) 62.58; Silver: Suharika Karki (Nepal) 61.00; Bronze: Aahana Goswami (Oman) 60.92.
Forward Bend: Senior B Female — Gold: Heena Rajgor (India) 43.50; Silver: Preeti Jaimani (Oman) 38.15; Bronze: Svetlana Lukashova (Russia), Maya Al Alostath (Jordan) 36.96.
Leg Balance Individual: Senior C Female — Gold: Tomoka Shimizu (Japan) 31.84; Silver: Doma Chanda (Mauritius) 30.47; Bronze: Sudha (India) 30.30. Senior C Male — Gold: Kamolatdin Rakhmanov (Uzbekistan) 37.33; Silver: Sathish Kumar Gujarati (India) 36.35; Bronze: Takuro Sato (Japan) 29.35.
With the final day of competition still to come, India's gold tally is set to grow further — and the push for Yogasana's Olympic status has never looked more credible.
Point of View
But the more consequential story is institutional: the backing of two Union ministries and SAI signals that Yogasana is being groomed for an Olympic bid with state resources behind it. The razor-thin 0.01-point margin by which Japan's Watanabe beat India's Chavan in the Supine Individual also shows that as the sport globalises, India's home-ground advantage will narrow. The real measure of this championship's legacy will not be the medal count, but whether its scoring frameworks and anti-doping protocols are robust enough to satisfy the International Olympic Committee's recognition criteria.
NationPress
12 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Heena Rajgor and why is she significant at the World Yogasana Championships 2026?
Heena Rajgor is a competitive Yogasana athlete from Bhuj, Gujarat, who is also a former Miss Gujarat Super Model and a PhD scholar in Yoga. She won gold in the Forward Bend Senior B Female category at the inaugural World Yogasana Championships 2026 in Ahmedabad with 43.50 points, becoming one of the headline performers of the penultimate day.
How many medals has India won at the World Yogasana Championships 2026?
As of the penultimate day on 7 June, India led the medals tally with 50 medals in total — 40 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze. Japan was second with 10 medals including 3 gold, and Singapore third with 6 medals.
What is the World Yogasana Championship 2026 and where is it being held?
It is the inaugural edition of a global competitive Yogasana tournament, held at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, India. The event is supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Ayush, and the Sports Authority of India, and is positioned as a step toward Olympic recognition for Yogasana as a sport.
Which other countries won gold medals on the penultimate day?
Japan won two gold medals through Hisashi Watanabe (Supine Individual Senior B Male) and Tomoka Shimizu (Leg Balance Individual Senior C Female). Russia's Svetlana Lukashova won the Supine Individual Senior B Female gold, and Uzbekistan's Kamolatdin Rakhmanov claimed his country's first gold of the Championships in Leg Balance Individual Senior C Male.
Is Yogasana on a path to Olympic recognition?
Organisers and government backers have explicitly framed the World Yogasana Championship 2026 as part of a pathway toward Olympic recognition. The event has the support of two Union ministries and the Sports Authority of India, which are working to establish Yogasana as a globally competitive and institutionally recognised sporting discipline.
