CWG 2018 | Indian Gymnastics team penalised for not having national emblem
The Indian gymnastics team lost points at the 2018 CWG as they were not wearing identical leotards and their attire didnât even sport the national emblem. Bisweshwar Nandi, the coach of Dipa Karmakar, was surprised by the error made by the coaching staff and Indian Olympic Association officials.
A month before the Indian gymnastics team left for the Commonwealth Games, they were dealt with a huge blow as star gymnast Dipa Karmakar was ruled out due to a knee injury. But the Olympian trained with the gymnastics squad before they left for Gold Coast.
Indiaâs women gymnasts began their Commonwealth Games campaign on a positive note as Pranati Nayak, Pranati Das, and Aruna Reddy were impressive. However, a couple of days later there was bad news all around as the gymnastics team was penalised. The trio lost points for not having the national emblem on their attire. They also lost points for not wearing the same leotards in the team final on Friday (March 6).Â
The three of them received a deduction of 0.3 points each and India additionally received a penalty of 1.0 point in the team final. Dipa Karmakarâs coach Bisweshwar Nandi was shocked (and surprised) by the error made by the coach.Â
âItâs quite surprising how such a big error has happened in an international event. The coach/manager should pay attention to these details. The girls too are experienced and they should have taken care of it. If the attire does not have an emblem, we pin it before the competition,â Bisweshwar Nandi was quoted saying by The Hindu.
According to the artistic gymnastics rulebook, âThey (gymnasts) must wear a national identification or emblem on the leotard/unitard in accordance with the most recent FIG (international gymnastics federation) publicity rules. For missing the national emblem/and wrong placement under âViolations of Attireâ, 0.30 penalty points will be deducted from Gym/App from the final score, while for not wearing identical leotards, the team will receive one penalty point.â
Hence, the Indian gymnasts were penalised. âIndia has received a penalty of 1.0 point in the team final due to not identical leotardsâŚ. Aruna Reddy, Pranati Das and Pranati Nayak have been penalised 0.3 points each in the balance beam due to the missing national emblem,â a note was attached below the score sheet.
It was a poor and an embarrassing mistake on the part of the officials and it should not have gone unnoticed. âIt is an embarrassing error and should not have happened. They are all experienced people and aware of international norms,â Gymnastics chief coach GS Bawa said.Â
The womenâs team finished at the 7th place after accumulating 128.975 points.Â