Oceana reena thomashopes

Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships: Fourteen-year-old Oceana Reena Thomas created history at the Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships in December 2023 when she became Tamil Nadu’s first-ever junior national gold medallist at Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

Now, Oceana will carry the state’s medal hopes in the gymnastics arena at the 6th Khelo India Youth Games 2023. And though repeating her last month’s feat in front of her home crowd is her priority, the class 10th student is already looking at the Khelo India platform as a stepping stone for much higher dreams.

“I am hoping that the platform, the training and the cash prizes, if I win any, can be put into further training for realising the Olympic dream,” says Oceana, who dropped out of regular schooling to focus on her training and moved to the High-Performance Centre at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.