Shivaji Gymnastics Club of Nagpur came home from a state-level meet in Pune with eight apparatus medals and a team podium finish. Its gymnasts competed at the State Level Grade-wise Invitational Gymnastics Competition 2026, which Shree Sports Academy hosted at Balewadi Stadium from September 11 to 13, the club said in a press note.
Twelve gymnasts made the trip and entered Grade 4 and Grade 5 events in the Middle Age and Open Age divisions. The club reported this tally:
- 3 apparatus medals in men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG), Grade 5 Open Age
- 4 apparatus medals in women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG), Grade 5 Open Age
- Silver in WAG Grade 4 floor exercise
- Third place in the Grade 5 Open Age team championship
How a grade-wise meet works
Grade-wise competitions group gymnasts by the level of skills they perform, and split each grade into age divisions. A club can enter each child at the stage their training has reached, so a young gymnast working on Grade 5 routines meets others working at the same level. Coaches use these meets to judge whether a gymnast is ready to move up a grade.
Judges award medals apparatus by apparatus. At senior level, men compete on six: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Women compete on four: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. Eight apparatus medals means Nagpur gymnasts reached the podium in eight separate events, and a team placing needs several members scoring well at once, which says more about a club’s depth than a single star result.
The distance factor
Balewadi’s Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, built for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, hosts state and national events. For a Nagpur team, a meet there means a journey of more than 700 km and competing on another city’s home ground. Results like this one give Vidarbha families a reason to consider the sport without assuming their children must train in Pune or Mumbai to get anywhere.
The club, founded in 2013, says it works to build the sport in Nagpur through structured training and regular competition. Manthan Bhalavi is its head coach.
For parents and young gymnasts
Nagpur families interested in training can contact the club through its head coach. The club has not yet announced its next competition; We will add individual medallists’ names if the club shares them.
Source: Press note issued by Shivaji Gymnastics Club, Nagpur, dated September 13, 2026.
This report is based on a press note from Shivaji Gymnastics Club and was written with AI assistance. Competition results are as reported by the club.