Karishma Naicker, a Saheti School matriculant who obtained six distinctions, is expecting this year to be an exciting one as she prepares to participate in the 15th African Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.
Naicker is a highly accomplished rhythmic gymnast who has competed in national and international competitions. She will participate in the senior Olympic group at the championships in Egypt this year.
She recently walked away with two gold medals in the senior Olympic group session for rhythmic gymnastics at the national competition.
Rhythmic gymnastics is a women’s-only event in which gymnasts perform on a floor with a rope, hoop, ball, and ribbon accompanied by music in individual or group events.
The 18-year-old told The Star that her matric year was a tricky balance of school work and perfecting her gymnastic skills.
She didn’t have time to spend the weekend lazing around. Her Saturday would start at 8am with tutoring at school before she trained at a studio from 10am until 2pm. In the afternoon, she would study for tests or prepare for her academic week.
Her hard work paid off as she managed to obtain an average of 86% and six distinctions in Afrikaans, English, geography, life orientation, life sciences and maths.
Naicker didn’t just excel at her school work as her Olympic group will be heading to Egypt to compete in rhythmic and trampoline gymnastics.
“We will be getting our Protea colours in March and that is the one accomplishment I am really proud of from my matric year,” she said.
Naicker said she was hoping to attend the University of the Witwatersrand this year where she was provisionally accepted for a BSc in physiotherapy. “I also want to do medicine. I did apply. If I don’t get into medicine I would like to use physiotherapy as a route into medicine,” she said.
She said she wanted to stay in Joburg to be close to her family and train with her team for the championships.