Rio Olympics 2016: Dipa Karmakar wants to inspire the next generation

Dipa Karmakar
Dipa Karmakar in action during the 2016 Rio Olympics

Days after missing out on a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, gymnast Dipa Karmakar is keen to get back to practice and come back harder the next time, leaving behind the failure from last week. She is the first female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics from India and put in a remarkable performance once she got there, missing out on the third spot by just 0.15 points.

Gymnastics is a sport which is a minority in a nation where cricket is followed like a religion, yet the Agartala-born girl overcame many hardships to compete at the highest level and is a true ‘path-breaker’ in the history of Indian sports. It would be interesting to see if she continues her consistency and get a second shot in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in 4 years’ time.

Also Read: 6 "path-breakers" in Indian sports

Inspiring the next generation is one of her primary motives, admits Dipa. "I want to inspire the next generation so that in 10 to 15 years, India can send a full gymnastics team to an Olympics and not just one athlete. (Five-time Olympic champion) Nellie Kim told me that in 10 years' time, Indian gymnastics will be at the same level as the Chinese team,” said the gymnast.

It is quite astonishing how Dipa along with her coach Bisweshwar Nandi started her quest for the Games. They hardly had any proper space to start with, choosing a marriage hall as a practice venue. The other apparatus were made out of parts from a second-hand scooter.

Known for her dangerous ‘Produnova’ vault, she feels that the infrastructure is not adequate for the sport to grow in India. As per a Reuters report she said, "Up until three months ago I was using out-of-date equipment. Even now we still do not have the Olympic standard balance beam and uneven bars in India. But I am now hopeful those will be imported into India."

Also Read: Dipa Karmakar is not a symbol of India's failure, hypocrisy and mediocrity; she is a symbol of something much more positive

Have realised how ignorant some people still are about gymnastics: Dipa

For a sport to prosper, the first and foremost initiative to be taken is to feed information about the game to the public. But it seems that India’s common folk still need time to understand the game properly. It is learnt as per reports that Dipa was once asked by a fan why she did not perform the ‘Produnova’ twice, which would have enhanced her chances for a podium finish. But that is not possible according to the rules.

Regarding the matter, Dipa said, "That’s when I realised how ignorant some people still are about gymnastics. I had to explain to them that the rules state I have to perform two completely different vaults, one going forward and one going backwards."

The Tripura girl, who feels that a medal win could have made her complacent, is confident of Olympic glory 4 years from now.

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Edited by Staff Editor