Indian gymnast Ashish Kumar will celebrate his 30th birthday today (November 26, 2020). The Allahabad-born athlete is the first-ever Indian gymnast to win a medal in the sport, a feat he achieved at the Commonwealth Games. Kumar is one of the country’s most successful Gymnast and has several medals to his name both at national and international events. So as Ashish Kumar turns a year older, we take a look at some lesser-known facts about him.

Ashish Kumar’s first major competition was the 2006 Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championship which was held in Surat, India where he won a bronze medal in the floor exercise event, which was also India’s first major international medal in the history of artistic gymnastics. Here are some interesting facts about Ashish Kumar.

Lesser-Known Facts About Ashish Kumar

  • Ashish Kumar won India’s first-ever medals in Gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games

  • At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Kumar won a bronze medal in the Floor Exercise event and later a silver medal on Vault

  • At the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, Ashish Kumar won bronze in floor exercise which to this day is India’s only medal in gymnastics at the Asian Games

  • At the 2011 South Central Asian Gymnastics Championships in Dhaka, Kumar won four gold medals

  • In 2011, Ashish Kumar was awarded Arjuna Award, becoming the third male to win the prestigious honour in Gymnastics

Ashish Kumar is one of India’s most successful gymnast and has set the bar for gymnastics in the country. The Allahabad athlete represents the ‘Ministry of Road Transport & Highways’ club. Ashish Kumar has won several medals at the Asian Games, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2020 08:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).