Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak claimed a silver medal at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent, powering through a bout of viral fever and months of injury-enforced absence to deliver one of the more resilient performances of her career. The three-time Asian Championship medallist credited her coach's relentless encouragement as the decisive factor that kept her from withdrawing.

A Comeback Shadowed by Setbacks

Pranati's road to Tashkent began with a serious ligament tear in her ankle sustained in October last year during the women's vault qualification at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the Indonesia Arena. She had landed awkwardly while attempting a Tsukahara 720 Twist and pulled out before her second vault. The injury triggered a seven-month hiatus from international competition and forced a complete restructuring of her competitive calendar.

Her coach, Ashok Kumar Mishra, described the recovery as a multi-disciplinary effort. 'She had a ligament break in her ankle, but she is a senior player with immense experience and recovered incredibly fast. She worked closely with a physiotherapist, planned her diet with a nutritionist, and consulted a mental trainer to stay sharp,' he said.

Viral Fever Derails Final Preparations

Just as Pranati was finding her rhythm in training — roughly two weeks before the Tashkent event — a viral fever struck, wiping out her training gains almost overnight. The illness came on top of an earlier bout of tonsillitis that had already forced her to miss the Senior National Championships, the intended stepping stone back to international competition.

Pranati described the emotional toll candidly. 'To be honest, I had a viral fever before the competition. I was getting zero on my training. Just two weeks before the competition, my preparation was going well. After getting sick, I was losing hope. My coach kept pushing me, asking, why are you giving up? You can do it. He gave me quality training,' she said at a felicitation event organised by the Sports Authority of India on Friday.

Adapting the Training Load

With her body weakened, Mishra took a deliberate call to scale back the volume of Pranati's vault repetitions significantly. Where her standard training load runs to 17, 18, or even 20 vaults, the pre-Tashkent sessions were capped at just eight attempts — enough to rebuild confidence and groove the landing, without draining her limited reserves.

'Because my body was weak from the fever, we cut down on repetitions. I did what I was supposed to do at the competition. I just wanted to build my confidence, land well, and make the most of the exposure,' Pranati explained. The stripped-back approach also reflected a longer-term calculation: with the ankle still only 90 per cent healed, protecting Pranati ahead of the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games was equally important as the result in Tashkent.

Coach's Confidence and the Road Ahead

Mishra acknowledged that returning to international competition after six to seven months without competitive match practice is rarely straightforward for any athlete, but said his confidence in Pranati never wavered. 'Normally, for an athlete who hasn't competed for six to seven months, performance is never guaranteed. But I was absolutely certain that once she was physically fit, she would give 100 per cent,' he said.

The original plan had targeted four World Cups this season before the ankle injury intervened. The gymnastics federation, acknowledging Pranati's standing, cleared her to compete directly at the World Challenge Cup, bypassing the nationals she had missed. The silver in Tashkent now sets the tone for a carefully managed return, with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games firmly in the crosshairs.