The first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar keeps it simple.
She doesn’t make news with flashy quotes or big statements. She doesn’t snatch the limelight when not needed.
Despite achieving the historic feat of making the Olympics’ cut earlier this summer, Dipa Karmakar quietly returned to her hometown of Agartala and trained in the same centre she had, before she became a household name. There were offers made by the Sports Authority of India and funds close to Rs 30 Lakhs offered to her to train abroad with world-class instructors, but again, Dipa preferred keeping it simple. Refusing all grants, the 23-year-old made just one request, to be given the same vaulting table that is used at the Olympics, so she could better her landing.
Table or not, the champ has now landed herself a spot in Sunday’s vault final. She is now one among the eight best vaulters in the world.
Can she continue to make history for India in the sport? Can she bag the country’s first medal in Rio? Can she land The Produnova with perfection?
Sunday shall tell. But till then, even as Dipa does what she does best, she has just one request off her countrymen, ‘please pray I win a medal’.
As always, Dipa keeps it simple.
Video editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
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