Bollywood has made its way into gymnastics with Tiana Sumanasekera from the University of California (UCLA), showing her skills with a touch of Bollywood.
Tiana’s Bollywood-inspired routine, during a women’s gymnastics regional championship, drew huge applause from those in attendance and the video has also gone viral on social media.
A former member of the United States women’s national artistic gymnastics team, Tiana is the 2023 Pan American all-around and balance beam champion. At the NCAA level, she is currently a member of the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team.
Tiana is believed to be the first gymnast of Sri Lankan descent to represent the U.S. in international competition.
In 2023 she made her senior debut at the 2023 Winter Cup where she only competed on uneven bars and balance beam. In April that year she was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships alongside Zoe Miller, Addison Fatta, Joscelyn Roberson, Nola Matthews and traveling replacement athlete Madray Johnson.
During the Pan American Championships she won gold on balance beam and individual all-around and silver on floor. During the team final Sumanasekera contributed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise towards the USA’s first place finish.
In 2024 Sumanasekera competed at the 2024 City of Jesolo Trophy where helped the USA finish third as a team behind Italy and Brazil. She next competed at the Core Hydration Classic where she finished sixth in the all-around. At the 2024 National Championships Sumanasekera placed ninth in the all-around and third on floor exercise behind Simone Biles and Kayla DiCello. As a result, she qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials. At the Olympic trials, Sumanasekera finished eighth in the all-around and third on balance beam behind Joscelyn Roberson and Hezly Rivera. She was named as a non-traveling alternate for the 2024 Olympic team.
