Mumbai, Dec. 20 -- Rising Indian athlete Vir Gahrotra secured a gold medal at the Pole and Aerial Sports World Championship, marking the country's first-ever podium finish at the global event held in Budapest, Hungary, according to a release from Vir Gahrotra.

The 16-year-old Mumbai-based Vir represented India in the Junior B Amateur Men (15-17 years) aerial silk category. Competing against athletes from countries with established aerial sports ecosystems such as Ukraine, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, Gahrotra delivered a winning performance in a technically demanding field.

Aerial silk is a performance-based aerial gymnastics discipline that requires significant upper-body strength, endurance, flexibility, and artistic control, acco...