Three players from Odisha won three medals in the World Virtual Yoga Sports Championship which was conducted by International Yogasana Sports Federation on 20 and 21 November 2021. The three medals included two gold and one bronze.

All three Odisha medal winners belong to Cuttack. Among the three, Smarak Dey won one gold in adult men group with a toal score of 46.080. His performance featured 92.9 per cent difficulty and 89 per cent execution.

This was the first international medal for 17-year-old Smarak, who had secured fifth position in boys yogasana at the 1st International Yoga Olympic Games, conducted online by International Yoga Olympic Committee in August 2020.

Son of Subhashis Dey and Monalisa Satapathy, Smarak has the credit of winning three gold and four silver medals in National Yoga Championships till date. Student of Krishnamurti World School, Smarak took to yoga at the age of six.

The second gold medal in the World Virtual Yoga Sports Championship was bagged by Saraswati Samal in girls 12-14 years category with a total score of 39.560. Her difficulty and execution percentage were 83.9 and 84 respectively.

Diptimayee Sethi secured the bronze medal, also in girls 12-14 years category. Her total score was 33.090, difficulty 75.0 per cent and execution 79 per cent. A total of 168 players from 26 countries participated in the championship.

The Indian contingent had 18 players, including four from Odisha. The fourth Odisha participant was Pranay Keshri. After a gruelling two-day contest, the final results have brought glory for India, particularly Odisha.
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PHOTO: World Virtual Yoga Sports Championship gold medallist Smarak Dey in action.