The biggest reason for Dipa Karmakar’s success in the sport of gymnastics, apart from her obvious talent, is her ability to transform anything negative into something positive. As she walked to the media section at the Rio Olympic arena after her 4th-place finish yesterday, she had a smile on her face. But we didn't know what that smile was concealing until much later.
The Tripura girl was not happy about finishing fourth; far from it. Later, during an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, she broke down in tears of anger, weeping inconsolably for missing the bronze medal. But she had made sure she would be smiling when speaking to the media earlier – to remind herself that no negative energy would stop her from becoming the best gymnast in the world.
For the last four years, the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) has been divided into two factions, crushing the sport’s chances of growth. Due to a petty internal rivalry, Indian gymnasts are not being exposed to the best infrastructure, they lack coaching camps and most importantly, they have negligible foreign exposure. For Dipa to have emerged from an atmosphere like that is something that we Indians can't fully appreciate yet. In fact, it was only during a chat with Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) Bruno Grandi that I realized just how much of a hero she is considered outside India.
He said, “Gymnastics needed Dipa more than Dipa needed Gymnastics. The sport was longing for an underdog that fought against all odds to reach this level. The sport for the longest time has been restricted to the major high-performance countries such as USA and China. But for Dipa to come and consistently perform at this level...
“Everyone from the fraternity was just hoping that she would finish third, it would be great for the sport. However, what makes her Olympic journey even more special is the inability of the association to overcome petty politics and help the sport. She has done it without anyone’s help, apart from her coach; that’s what makes it special. The FIG will help Dipa in any way they can.”
Having followed Dipa very closely for the last two years, I know how gutted she must have been after the fourth place finish. As she approached me outside the Vila Olimpica, her eyes became flushed in despair. She stood in front of me and said, “Dada, eta ki bhabe hoye gelo, ato practice korechilam, tobuo fourth. (Brother, how did this happen, I practised so hard and I still finished fourth). Promise korchi next time medal ashbei ashbe, tumi aamar deek diye India ke sorry bole dio (I promise that I will win a medal in Tokyo, please tell the world I’m sorry from my side).”
The dearth of medals in Rio is a step back for India – there are no two ways about it. In a sport such as shooting, which used to constitute 70% of our medal tally, India has failed to even win one. Unless Vikas Krishan pulls off a miracle against Uzbekistan today, we just might go empty handed in Boxing as well, a sport that has yielded a medal in each of the last two Olympics.
However, instead of appreciating what this 23-year-old girl from Tripura has gone through for the past two years, the fact that we are lamenting her missed bronze medal is a reflection of us being a meritocratic society. From practising on a scooter to reaching the top four in the Olympics in just two years is a feat any other high-performance country would be proud of. India may not have won a medal yet, but Dipa has probably achieved something even greater for the country.
Dipa’s physio Sajid, who was the subject of a lot of controversies last week, succinctly explained the nature of Dipa's transition from a rank amateur to the world’s finest. “When I became her physio two years ago, she knew nothing. Nandi Sir does a lot of high intensive training but doesn’t have much idea about recovery. And due to the nature of her sport, injuries are a part and parcel. I kid you not, for almost one year Dipa just ingested painkillers instead of getting her problems resolved, as they even couldn’t think of hiring a physio.
“From a physio’s perspective, the worst thing can be delaying the problem, and that’s what she was essentially doing. So it was tough (to oversee) the first year of physiotherapy for Dipa. If you would've seen her, you would realise how much pain she has dealt with physically to reach this place. She outdid our expectations.”
The night before she would create history, regardless of her result, Dipa picked up an elbow knock. Her team, evidently perturbed by the situation, tried all kinds of exercises to fix it. But Dipa just smiled and said, “This pain is nothing to the joy I’m going to feel when I walk out there and win a medal. Don’t worry if it’s not fixed, I will fight through the pain."
This statement might not mean much in the grander scheme of things, but it goes to show that she has the attitude of a winner. How many people reading this knew what the Produnova is six months ago? The nation is growing with Dipa; the closer she gets to gymnastic stardom, the more India gets educated about gymnastics.
These are things that cannot be quantified in the form of a gold, silver or bronze medal. If the country collectively looks beyond the medal narrative for Dipa and focuses on building on the positives, not only will there be a better system in place, but also a vision for Tokyo to not have just one, but multiple Dipas striving for gymnastic excellence.
Almost half an hour into our conversation, Coach Bisheshwar Nandi revealed that two other gymnasts, including B Aruna Reddy of Telangana, are being trained for Tokyo 2020.
He added, “I hope Dipa’s efforts have proven to both SAI and Sports Ministry that if we are given a bit more money, not much more, the result could be very very close. Just a bit more training facilities, a bit more supplements and direction in recovery and we are there. Everyone has helped us a lot and we will not undermine that, (but) just a little more help and I assure you we will cross the line. I promise you there will be three gymnasts representing India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at least.”
A past conversation, which eventually became a viral social media story, centred around how Dipa used scooters for her vaults in her early training days. Her coach had stated this very nonchalantly, with no regret or anger in his voice. It was almost like if the scooter got the job done then so be it – the result is what matters.
‘Team Dipa’ has spent only 30 % of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) money allotted to them. In a sport that requires heavy investment, working consistently with lesser means has become a way of life for them. Just imagine where Indian gymnastics would be now if they had got everything that Bisheshwar had asked for.
No physio at the venue increased her risk of injury, but there were no complaints from Dipa. Her primary goal was still the same – to win, and to win at any cost. I had spoken to her over the phone prior to her qualification rounds and she had said, “Dada, kandle aar ki hobe, ebaar jodi medal na niye jai, lokera bhule jaabe (If I sit and cry that I don’t have a physio, will I get a medal? People will forget me and the fact that gymnastics exists in this country).”
Even if Dipa hadn't made the finals, her Olympics participation in a sport like gymnastics itself would have been a huge achievement. If you visit the Telangana Gymnastics Association (TGA) practice facility, you will see cobwebs over the rings and people just doing random twists, with hardly anyone to teach them. On the other hand, you have USA and China, who treat gymnastics as one of their main events, with all national training centres having gymnastics and swimming as primary options.
The entire American sporting school system is based around the “gymnasium,” which was specifically created to cater to this sport. Even mentioning the two countries in the same sentence is a crime in its own – that's how big the difference in infrastructure is.
And yet, here you have a girl and a coach from Tripura, who are not only fighting the Americans and the Chinese, but also beating them. China’s Wan Yang is one of the most celebrated vaulters in the world with two world championships under her belt, and she finished fifth yesterday – one spot below Dipa.
Dipa added, “I will come back in Tokyo. I’m just 23 and if you saw there, most of the vaulters were older than me. So I will medal next time. I think this time the mistake I made was aiming for the top three, and that’s why I finished fourth. Next time, I will aim for gold and I might finish top three.
“I worked very hard for the last one year, I was so close. I knew when I hit 15.066 that I will be fourth, the next two jumpers were really good and I knew I could hit 15.2 but it just didn’t happen.”
Her score of 15.066 in the final yesterday is the highest she has every amassed. To do that at the Olympics is something most athletes can only dream of, but that’s exactly the point. Dipa is not just any athlete; she is gifted and hardworking but is playing a sport that has little to no history in our country.
Her reaction of despair should actually be one of joy and jubilation. And the least that we as a nation can do is rally to support Dipa’s quest for Olympic gold in Tokyo, and also introspect on this simple question: Will we celebrate Dipa consistently till Tokyo 2020?
