Gymnast Swathish’s journey: From losing his way to finding joy on Still Rings

5 min readJul 25, 2026 09:17 PM IST On his double tumble, single twist, tuck dismount — i.e when he landed with a deep full-in, and one balanced step on earth — Swathish sported a punch-pleased grin. ((Credit: Instagram: gymnastics_association_kerala) “He does it again! A second Maltese!!” the gymnastics commentator at the Commonwealth Games, Kate Downes said, with more than a hint of surprise during the Still Rings performance of India’s Swathish Kaitheri Puthalath. It had been a second perfect execution of the Maltese cross after the first, and watching an Indian pull it off had been delightful for the Glasgow crowd. On the Maltese cross, perfection means stillness. The manoeuvre is also called a Swallow, like the bird in perfect flight. Unmoving arms stretched out between the Rings.The