Inspired by family, acrobat gymnast Atharva Janskar sets sights on World Cup glory

India has cricket as its biggest sports which is played by millions of student athletes across the country. There are, however, many other who choose to pursue other sports and one such game is acrobat gymnastic. Atharva Janskar's is one such student who chose to play acrobat gymnastic since the age of 11 and now aims to play in World Cup for India. He currently is a student of the Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai where he practices the sport and nurtures the dream of becoming of the best in the sport.

WION recently spoke to him about his journey, inspiration and goals and the training he does for achieving his dreams.

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"My uncle Kunal Kote, he recently got the Chhatrapati Puraskar and I got the inspiration from him," says Atharva about the initial push to start the sport. "My whole family used to play sports. My uncle also pushed me and I have been playing the game since 2010 and 2011."

What inspired him to continue was an "international tournament (Asian Championships 2025) in Goa," where he "won three silver medals" and has set the next goal already which is "to be the first in the national games which are schedule in January."

Atharva also spoke about what made him continue to push himself to be better after the initial inspiration and take the seriously and revealed "the inclusion of acrobat gymnastic in national games in 2024 was the turning point for him."

Speaking about the routine, he said that he "trains near home in morning between 4 to 9 o'clock and then evening 6 to 10 o'clock."

Atharva also talked about how the Somaiya Sports Academy, where he trains, helps him achieving the goals, he said: One of my teachers, Mr. Dhanush, helps me a lot, especially when I was part of the national team in Uttarakhand."
Along with the coaches, the facilities also help him to improve his skills for his next goal which is "World Cup where he "wants to see myself in the first round."

For the World Cup, the student athlete is preparing "one hour extra apart from the regular practice" and he and his team wants to try a "balance act which nobody in the country hasn't done yet."

As for the technical part Atharva points to being "relaxed a lot and one shouldn't get too angry and that one needs to stay stable and balanced."