Sagar Ovhalkar, 25, a Mumbai-based engineer, became the first man in the country to receive the Arjuna award for mallakhamb.
Sagar was honoured with the coveted award at Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 30, 2022.
He is the second mallakhamb gymnast to receive the honour after 21-year-old Himani Parab from Dadar received it last year.
Sagar Ovhalkar graduated as a mechanical engineer and lives in Chembur, Mumbai.
Talking toSagar Ovhalkar said, "I work as a Project Coordination Engineer in Chemical Process Piping company. I work during the day and practice at night. I came to Jawahar Vidya Bhavan school for practice daily. I was a good student and my favourite subject was mathematics hence chose science. It was tough to manage both sports and studies but I never gave up. My family never stopped me from playing sports and have helped me with it."
Sagar stated that in the 2019 World Mallakhamb Championships (WMC), where gymnasts and enthusiasts from over 15 countries came together, he had bagged three gold medals and two silver medals.
Speaking aboout his future plans Sagar said, "I want a Government job because I graduated as Engineer and I will work in every field. I request today's youth that they must practice for mallakhamb and win medals for the country. My future plan is to win gold in the World Championship which will be held in Bhutan next year."
Sagar Ovhalkar's head coach Sunil Gangawane added, "A coach named Sanjay was with him earlier but he left so I took over as his coach in 2005. He has been devoted to the game and is very dedicated to his game (mallakhamb ). He comes for practice irrespective of timings, family situations etc. He is up early morning and practised day and night to achieve the Arjuna award from our President. Our goal is to win a gold medal in the Mallkhamb World championship Bhutan. We are also preparing for Mini Olympics Krida Championship, Jalgaon Maharashtra too."
The Arjuna-awardee's father also sought a government job for his son and stated that Sagar has made him proud.
"My son has a very keen interest in Mallakhamb, his brother Rakesh motivates him. He has made us proud by winning the Arjuna award. Now, we want a government job for Sagar," he said.
Sagar was inspired by his elder brother Rakesh Ovhalkar to take up mallakhamb practice. He was under the guidance of coach Sanjay Raichurkar and later coach Sunil Gangawane taught him both rope and pole mallakhamb. Sagar eventually preferred continuing pole practice after the rope version burnt his hands and thighs at an early age.
( With inputs from ANI )
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