Despite missing out on a podium finish in the mens artistic gymnastics team event,Ashish Kumar and Partha Mondal kept Indias hopes alive by qualifying for the individual all-round event as well as individual apparatus. Ashish qualified for the individual category when he finished fifth overall,while Partha came in 17th. India could have created history by winning a medal in the mens all-round category,and in fact were placed third with just two events to go. Falls resulting in injuries to Mondal and Rohit Jaiswal saw the team slip to sixth place. Both the gymnasts later went for MRI scans. Mondal collapsed clutching his knee after his fall from the horizontal bar,but he betrayed no lack of courage as he went on to complete his pommel horse routine with a heavily taped knee. Partha gave his 200 per cent,battling injury so that the team could finish. I was very proud of the boys today. We could have come in last and I would still have been as proud,said team coach Vladimir Chertkov. Nineteen-year-old Ashish additionally surprised many at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex by scoring the highest in the vault. Ashish first performed a seamless Sukahara double pike routine and then followed it with a hand front double somersault. He only just missed a perfect landing on both attempts as he scored 15.700,his highest ever score. I am disappointed on the team missing out today,but I have the individual all-round and the individual apparatus events to look forward to, said Ashish. Now,going into the Individual apparatus finals on Thursday,Ashish,with the highest score in the vault,looks set to become Indias first medal winner in gymnastics.
