Fri, Nov 19 10 10:22 PM
Allahabad, Nov 19 (PTI) Bubbling with confidence after becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a bronze at the Asian Games, Ashish Kumar has now set his eyes on the 2012 London Olympics and said he would "settle for nothing less than a gold". The 19-year-old gymnast was accorded a grand welcome at the Bamrauli airport here upon his return from Guangzhou in China, where he bagged a bronze medal last Tuesday, becoming the first-ever gymnast to have won a medal at the Asian Games. "It was a very tense moment at the floors final. I was performing alongside very powerful contenders from China, Japan and South Korea. A slight slip on my part could have ruined my chances," Ashish said. "I am exhilarated over having returned to my country after winning the medal on the Chinese soil, which has produced a number of world-class gymnasts," he added. The young gymnast, whose laurels at the Asian Games came close on the heels of the Commonwealth Games held at Delhi earlier last month where he had bagged a sliver and a bronze, said he was now bracing up for the London Olympics to be held in 2012. "I am looking forward to the London Olympics. I will settle for nothing less than a gold," he said. Ashish was later driven to the Madan Mohan Malaviya stadium for a felicitation ceremony amidst thunderous applause from the crowd along the route. At the stadium, where senior administrative officials led by Divisional Commissioner P V Jaganmohan were present, the young gymnast was felicitated along with his mentor U S Mishra. Mishra, who is the founder of the National Sports Academy, the alma mater of Ashish, said he was "proud to have the boy who has brought me close to realising my dreams within just over a decade of having set up the Academy. "I am sure Ashish will continue the good show at the Olympics as well," he said.
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