Few remember that gymnast Dipa Karmakar was the first Indian to have perfected the “vault of death” or Produnova. Or that she refused the BMW after she came fourth in an Olympic gymnastic event simply because there was no BMW service centre in Agartala or good enough roads to ride it. But that’s how self-effacing, practical and grounded Dipa is. And how deep-seated and rooted her passion to excel. One that saw her make a focussed comeback at age 24, when most gymnasts think of branching out to other things, and win the world title, again a first for an Indian. True, her injuries had forced her into a two-year exile and prevented her from ever doing the Produnova again. But Dipa found new routines that had a high difficulty level to win a gold at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup held in Turkey on Sunday. Predictably Dipa didn’t go overboard. Post victory, she said she was relieved and looks forward to doing plenty of work before the Asian Games, where she is expected to run against top-billed gymnasts from China, North Korea and Japan.
But our Dipa has more than a leap of faith. She can vault over any obstacle.