Rio Olympic Games 2016

Dipa Karmakar

After 52 years, an Indian gymnast has finally made it to Olympics and when this gymnast is a woman, it makes it the first ever for an Indian woman gymnast.

Dipa Karmakar is a name that has been dominating all the media channels be it print, digital or television, since a few days. This 22-year-old is an Indian artistic gymnast who has qualified for the upcoming Olympics on April 18, 2016 by garnering a total score of 52.698 points. Immediately after her qualification, she went on to win the gold medal in the women’s vault finals at the Olympic test event.

Karmakar is one of the five women who could do the dangerous Produnova vault. For the uninitiated this vault is the most difficult vault for women gymnasts and one wrong move could lead to death as well. However, the young gymnast feels that in life to achieve something one has to take risk. The vault that has a front handspring and two front somersaults has been named after the 1990’s sensation, Russian gymnast, Yelena Produnova.

Karmakar was born in Tripura (northeast India) and with this achievement she has become the first Indian in the last 52 years to qualify for Olympics and the first Indian woman gymnast to ever qualify for Olympics – she indeed has brought laurels for her state and country at large. Prior to Tripura girl, 1964 was the last time any Indian gymnast participated in the Olympics. Owing to this, at the moment she has become such a big star in India that praises are coming in from all sections. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi complimented the gymnast and said, “Dipa has made India proud and brought glory to its name. First time, a daughter from the country has been selected in gymnastics stream for the Rio Olympics. She has achieved the feat through her determination. Lack of resources never came in her way.”

Untouched by all the attention

However, the young gymnast who started practicing gymnastics when she was only six, is untouched by all the attention and wants to focus on her game. More than anyone else, she credits her coach Bisbeshwar Nandi for her success, who has been coaching her ever since and worked hard on her once flat feet as a kid, which is considered to be a big drawback for a gymnast.

In the past also she has won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow and made her presence felt internationally. In 2015, Karmakar had won a bronze at the Asian Gymnastics Championships and also landed at number five position at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which had already made her a star gymnast of the country, however, the media glare for getting into Olympics is unparalleled.

Currently she is visiting her parents in Tripura for a week and wants to enjoy some home-cooked food before gearing up for the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro from August 5-21. We wish her luck and hopes she gets India a gold medal.