Dipa Karmakar has broken new ground for India by qualifying for the final of the Vault event at the Rio Olympics, and a billion prayers are with her as she prepares to stand alongside seven other best artistic gymnasts in the world on Sunday to compete for a medal. In this country where even the best athletes in other sports are several rungs lower in the public interest than even the average cricketer, the path she has taken to reach this level is only slowly coming to light.
It has been revealed by SAI (Sports Authority of India) authorities that Dipa had declined financial assistance from the Sports Ministry in the lead-up to the Rio Olympics. Apart from turning down this incentive of INR 30 lakhs, she also turned down the other substantial offer which was made to her. She was given the freedom to train at any country of her own choice with a budget that would be kept flexible.
After qualifying for the event, she was included in the ambit of the TOP (Target Olympic Podium) scheme initiated by the Indian government for training purposes of Olympic athletes. But as the reports say, when asked, she smiled and said she didn't need the extra money and was happy with the training she was doing.
Faced with the opportunity of availing the world-class training facilities in countries like USA, Russia, China or Romania, Dipa felt that training in her own country would still be her best option. She did have one demand though – she asked for the same vaulting table that is being used for the Olympics, something that would help her landing.
In trying to find out what could have led her to turn down monetary offers from the government, we are led to uncover some frightening facts about her journey as an athlete and how it could have moulded her into an intensely individualistic athlete.
A vastly different career from all her other competitors
Gymnastics is one the most expensive sports to pursue as well as to follow. The other seven finalists on Sunday hail from USA, North Korea, Switzerland, Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada and China – countries with strong gymnastics traditions. Dipa’s path to the final, on the other hand, has been hindered by her country more than made easy. For starters, the SAI had turned the 5-year-old Dipa away because she had flat feet, a big disadvantage for a gymnast.
Instead of being dissuaded, Dipa stuck on. The beginnings of this incredible story of grit and determination were scripted at the ramshackle Vivekananda Byamgar, where the equipment was fashioned out of discarded scooter parts. She had to land on hard surfaces or platforms made up of anything that was soft and spongy. Rainwater would seep through the roof on to the floor.
She studied in a Bengali medium school so that pressures of studies would be less and she could concentrate on gymnastics training. For sixteen long years, this story continued to be written in the shadows. Then came the bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, as she unleashed the Produnova. A bronze at the 2015 World Championships followed, and suddenly she could not stay out of the spotlight any more.
However, if one thinks this recognition was to be something positive for her, he would need to think again. Dipa found herself as the focal point of the dark problem tearing apart gymnastics administration in the country.
The national gymnastics federation is currently divided into two factions, and consequently, there is a serious dearth of coaching camps, foreign exposure, competitions, and funding. Dipa was invited by both parties to participate in two separate nationals. With a year to go for the Olympics, the youngster was being asked to choose sides. Once turned away, now a tug-of-war was being played over her for the sake of political points.
“I’ll show you now” – A more homegrown training method
Having trained for years out of the public eye and without any help, it is natural that Dipa’s path lay towards neither of the administrations that invited her. She was destined to walk a much higher road, a road she had prepared herself for with the help of only one person – her coach Bishweshwar Nandi.
Dipa Karmakar did not have any of the facilities enjoyed by the other seven Vault finalists in her career, but she had other things. She had Nandi, and she had her own desire of proving everybody wrong. Nandi would taunt her in Bengali if she failed in her routines, and this would bring out a perfect execution from his ward.
"When she is angry in a positive way she can do a lot, and has done it," Nandi had said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
"I told her jump fast, touch the vault swiftly, push yourself more. She got angry and said 'I'll show you now'.
"The elite gymnasts have always relied on a scientific system which was established decades ago. In India, gymnastics is not popular. So it is not easy."
The INR 30 lakh that had been allocated for Dipa can be used for some other athlete as a result of Dipa’s gesture, but this might not have been the only motivation for her in turning the offer down. Perhaps, the road taken by Dipa has been so solitary and she has been so self-sufficient that she sees no reason to let anything else in now.
