Gymnast-turneddiver Medhali Redkar bagged the gold medal in the 1m springboard event at the National Games, here on Friday.

Once a gymnast, Medhali made a switch to diving after her coaches suggested that she try her hand in the sport as both require similar core strength and acrobatic abilities.

Though unsure, Medhali decided to give it a try. Seven years later, the Mumbai girl ended statemate Hrutika Shriram’s stranglehold on the gold with a total of 171.50 points.

“I had made the team in only one event, and since it was the last event, the fatigue of waiting was setting in. But I worked on that with my psychologist and came close to my best ever to win the medal,” Medhali said.

Incidentally, Medhali had bagged a bronze in the 3m springboard event at the just-concluded Senior Nationals in Guwahati and had finished fifth in the 1m springboard event.

“I had confidence in my abilities. Yes, there was some anxiety going into the competition.

“But I worked on focusing only on my routine,” added Medhali, who is also a practising physiotherapist. The 24-year-old, who had won multiple national-level medals in gymnastics, had been successfully balancing her academics and sport over the years.

“I never wanted to restrict myself just to academics or sport. It means I need to work extra hard and my social life and friendships suffer. But I am happy with the way things are,” said Medhali, who spends about three hours a day on diving practice and also works with a local sports clinic.

Speaking about her transition from gymnastics to diving, she said she initially used to practice both events when she joined coach Tushar Gitaye in the Prabodhankar Thackeray Swimming Pool back in 2015.

“Though gymnastics and diving need similar abilities, the techniques are quite different.

“ In diving, you go head first in the water while in gymnastics you have to land on your feet. “I wasn’t getting the right feel initially.

“But in the school nationals that same year, I finished fourth or fifth but was very happy with the way I executed my dives and decided that I could do this for a career.”