Dipa Karmakar has created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. She booked her place at the Rio Games after putting up a strong show in the final qualifying and test event here.
Hours after creating history, 22-year-old Dipa vaulted to the gold medal at the test event of the Summer Games in Rio on Tuesday.
Her journey from humble beginnings in her hometown of Agartala is testimony to her hard work and determination. The daughter of a weightlifting coach at the SAI centre in Agartala, Dipa started gymnastics from the early age of six. She is trained by coach Bisbeshwar Nandi.
An overwhelmed Dipa spoke to NDTV from Brazil and expressed her delight after she was flooded with congratulatory messages. "I am really happy. I am living in a world of dreams. I am overwhelmed by the fact that the Prime Minister, President and Sachin Tendulkar have tweeted about me." she said.
She did, however, stress that the hard work has only begun and has her eyes on Olympic glory. "My earnest desire is to create history at the Olympics. For that, I have four months and I have to really work hard."
On her preparation, she said: "Since 2014, SAI officials have been helping me out a lot. It wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and hard work of my coach Bisbeshwar Nandi and project officer Indrajeet Pabla.
"For doing the 'Produnova' vault, SAI prepared a foam pit for me at the IGI Stadium. That helped me to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games and Asian championship. All of us had only one goal in mind. It was because of the hard work that the team put in that I am able to achieve this feat."
Comments
SHARE