New Delhi: Dipa Karmakar’s rise to fame was a faiytale story which has the gymnast herself in awe. The 22-year-old from Tripura became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics and capped it with a gold medal at the test event in Rio de Janeiro. Dipa returned to a hero’s welcome early in the morning here on Thursday. “The adulation and appreciation I am getting after the feat is surprising. I have become so popular that I cannot believe it. But I have no time for celebrations... for that matter not even enough time to take a bath! I am just sitting in the same jersey the moment from I have landed here... meeting reporters, fans, officials and giving interviews,” Dipa told this newspaper.
“Everyone knows me now as the vaulter and especially for my Produnova. So, I am happy that now whole world knows that Indians are also into gymnastics,” the 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist added. For Dipa to compete at the Olympic Games was a childhood dream and she will try her best to “win a medal at the quadrennial event”. “I know it will be very difficult to bag a medal at the Games but I will leave no stone unturned in my quest for glory in August.
“I was six when my parents introduced me to gymnastics. I had dreamt that one day I will compete at the Olympics and bring laurels for my country. And now when I have booked a spot for the Olympics, I will work harder than ever and hopefully I can win a medal at Rio. That is my target now,” said Dipa, who reached here after a 36-hour journey from Brazil. The Arjuna Awardee gave credit to her coach Bisbeshwar Nandi for her rise. “Gymnastics was not a popular sport in India and to get a coach of international standard was even more difficult. It was in my destiny that I met Nandi Sir. Without him, nobody would have known me. I dedicate my achievement to him,” she said.
Asked about the Produnova vault she performed in Rio, which very few top gymnasts attempt because of the risk involved, Dipa said, “To achieve something, you have to take risks. I am thankful that special arrangements were made at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here where I practised and learnt the Produnova vault. “Otherwise it would have been impossible. So, I am thankful to SAI and to the Gymnastics Federation of India,” she said.
