After becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar has set her eyes on a podium finish at the Rio Games scheduled to be held in August.
The 22-year-old garnered a total score of 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event on Monday to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games.
“It is a good feeling to win a gold medal,” Dipa was quoted as saying at the official facebook page of the International Federation of Gymnastics.
“My next objective is an Olympic medal podium,” she said after clinching the gold in vaults finals at the test event of Rio Games.
The Tripura girl scored 14.833 as her best effort to finish first in the women’s vaults finals at the Rio Olympic Arena. She defeated 2008 Olympic silver medallist Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan.
Apart from being the first Indian woman, she will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the quadrennial extravaganza after 52 long years.
Since the independence of the country, 11 Indian male gymnast have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964) but this will be the first for an Indian woman at the Olympics.
PM Modi lauds Dipa’s feat
Katra (Jammu): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed Dipa Karmakar, who became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics Games, saying she brought laurels for the country by her sheer determination.
“Dipa has made India proud and brought glory to its name. First time, a daughter from the country has been selected in gymnastics stream for the Rio Olympics. She has achieved the feat through her determination. lack of resources never came in her way,” he said, addressing the convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University here.
He said it is essential to have firm determination to excel in life and the amount of facilities available should not become an obstacle in this pursuit.
Besides being the first Indian woman, she will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the Olympics after 52 years.
The Prime Minister also recalled the feat and effort made by ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi who had carved a road through a hill at Gehlour in Bihar, working day and night for 22 years from 1960 to 1982.
“Manjhi not only made the road but also created history with it,” he said.
Congratulating girl students of the university, Modi quipped he desires that they should participate in every field in huge numbers so that there comes a time when a “movement” has to be launched for “men’s reservation”.