Pranati Nayak scored a solid 13.000 on her Tsukahara to edge into the vault final at the Asian Games, a victory that will make her face Oksana Chusovitina on Thursday.
The 31‑year‑old’s first vault, a 4.4‑difficulty Tsukahara back 360, earned 8.600 for execution, while her second, a 4.0‑difficulty handspring pike, landed at 8.433, giving her an aggregate of 12.916.
The margin was razor‑thin—just 0.10 points separated her from the line, and the bonus of 0.20 helped seal the spot. This was the turning point after the lackluster Commonwealth Games performance that left her with a shaky approach.
Coach Ashok Mishra, who had set the target before the Games, said, "She will do well in this test, but it's going to be tough." She had been battling plantar fasciitis, yet showed no signs of discomfort during her run.
The final will also feature 51‑year‑old Oksana Chusovitina, who qualified with 13.266, and South Korea’s Seojeong Yeo, who led the field with 14.466. Nayak will aim to rewrite her story when the medals are decided Thursday.