Most students climb the grade ladder; Aka Pappu ’28 prefers the Salmon Ladder—and it’s taking her all the way to American Ninja Warrior.

As a child, she always had a lot of energy and played a variety of sports. However, once she started Ninja Warrior, she fell in love with the unique sport. This year, she was invited to compete on the hit TV show, American Ninja Warrior, which airs on NBC.  

“She took to Ninja like a fish to water,” Aka’s father, Dr. Ravi Pappu said. “From the very first time she went to a Ninja gym in 2016, it was clear that she had a natural talent for the sport, and was fortunate to find and be coached by some of the early stars in the sport.”

Aka’s journey with Ninja started in kindergarten. She was very active and always climbing, both indoors and outdoors, so her teacher told her parents about a local ninja gym, Action Athletics. The first time she went to an open gym, she fell in love and started going as much as she could.

Six months later, she was asked to be on their team after they saw how much she enjoyed the sport. She has been competing ever since.  

In 2020, Pappu decided to search for a larger gym with more competitive training. She found those qualities in Vitality Obstacle Fitness in Fall River. She started training with Coach Jordan Thurston, and joined their Ninja Warrior Team.

While the commute is an hour and thirty minutes long each way, Pappu says it is worth it.  

“Vitality has intensely focused training and a competitive and talented team,” Pappu said.

While many may know American Ninja Warrior as a set obstacle course, it also has an element of imagination and invention. One of the things that drew Pappu to Ninja was the opportunities to create courses that challenge her and help her to improve.  

“I like Ninja because it combines all [types of] movements and I like to move a lot,” Pappu said. “The way everything is, you get to choose what you want to do and it’s creative because you can always put obstacles together to make a different course. It’s fun.” 

Ninja Warrior may appear to be a very individualized sport, but in actuality it has a strong and supportive community and sense of camaraderie, which is essential for success. 

“My favorite thing about Ninja Warrior is the community. In this sport you’re cheering for your competitors, you’re training with your competitors, and you are friends with them.” Pappu said. 

Pappu is a rising star in the Ninja world and has won three world championships. She competes in the FINA, WNL, NSC, Premier Series, and UNAA leagues. All of these leagues are professional leagues, meaning Pappu competes against ninjas age 13 and up for NSC, and 15 and up for the rest. Recently, Pappu attended the Ninja Sport Championship qualifier at a gym in Chicago, Big Time, which was the first NSC qualifier she has won.  

Pappu discusses how it felt to be invited onto American Ninja Warrior.

“Being invited to be on the show was incredibly exciting because I grew up watching it, so it felt like a dream come true,” Pappu said. “It was a defining moment in my life, getting to compete alongside amazing ninjas and actually be one of them on the show.”   

You can watch Pappu on American Ninja Warrior Season 17, which will stream on NBC in Summer 2026. 

“When everything comes together on a course, it really is a lovely experience for us parents,” Dr. Pappu said.

Editors’ Note: Aka Pappu ’28 is a Journalist on The Gator.