Dipa Karmakar | The girl who climbed many a mountain to reach the sky

For India’s gymnastics queen Dipa Karmakar, the obstacles started coming from a very young age, but with each stumbling block, she learnt to grow stronger, more resilient, and ultimately reach for the sky. For some, continuous challenges in life rob them of their very passion but not for the Tripura girl who never feared to face them.

Unfortunately, that was not the only hurdle for the precocious talent who was introduced to the beautiful world of artistic gymnastics by her weightlifting coach father, Dulal. As is the case with many of India’s gifted athletes, she too suffered from the absence of a proper infrastructure.

Also, read : Road to Rio: The great Indian dream

But she did not let these shortcomings of the sports system crush her dreams. Rat-infested gyms could not throw her off nor could the floodwater during heavy monsoons that would inundate the training centre.

Neither could the fact that she did not even have the right shoes and had to borrow a leotard when she participated in a competition for the first time. Even the dearth of a national federation was not enough to daunt her.

Perhaps that is what makes her story more inspiring. To cross these hurdles and stand shoulder to shoulder with the other Rio qualifiers who never even had to come close to such ordeals is what makes this vault exponent stand out.

Dipa has always believed in the motto – “To achieve something in life, you have to take risks.”

Dipa, though, is unperturbed and absolutely not unnerved by such consequences. Her quiet confidence in her abilities is something to revere. Pushing the boundaries, Karmakar is today just one out of five women to have successfully completed such a daring somersault.

She kept her word, but it was not without any hassle. A swollen leg put her on the brink of a withdrawal from her pet event. Despite warnings from her team, Karmakar not only went on to participate in it but she brought home a bronze medal, and with it, the long-coveted recognition and stardom.

From obscurity to being thrust under the spotlight overnight – many athletes lose their footing with burgeoning expectations. Dipa did not let that happen which is so admirable.

After narrowly missing out on a medal at the 2014 Asian Games where she finished fourth in vault, she went on to add the bronze in that category at the 2015 Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships. In between, she reached unprecedented heights in her chosen discipline as she logged the highest score on a Produnova with a 15.100.

As success started coming in, she remained grounded, and that is a huge lesson for many young aspirants. Unassuming, modest and singularly committed to her sport, she breached newer barriers at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Instead of lamenting over the near-miss, it only intensified her hunger for the Olympic ticket. And she lived up to her own expectations when she fulfilled it in her very next opportunity at the Rio test event this April.

In a recent BBC documentary, the 22-year-old has said: “After I got the 2014 bronze medal, my life changed.”

That momentous feat not only altered her life but it also revolutionized India’s sporting culture. Gymnastics is no longer considered an alien sport in this country nor is India an unfamiliar name in the world of gymnastics any more.

Karmakar might be leaping for a Rio Olympic medal, and in a few months’ time, may even grab one, but this will undoubtedly remain her biggest achievement till date.

Also, read : Dipa Karmakar : My first target will be to reach the final at Rio