Dipa Karmakar : Simone Biles told me my vault should be named "Karmakar vault"
After receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Dipa Karmakar, although visibly tired from the events, said that she will not rest until she wins a medal at the Tokyo Olympics four years later. The gymnast also talked about how she received praise from the world's greatest gymnast Simone Biles.
Despite having captured the imagination of the entire nation with her Produnova vault and winning the highest sporting honor of the nation, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dipa Karmakar remains humble. The star gymnast said, “Before leaving for the Rio Olympics, I was a normal Dipa, but I have got so much love and affection from all the corners since my return even though I couldn't win a medal. I wish to thank the media for making the country my audience. The experience at Rashtrapati Bhavan was a good one... felt proud to sit in the company of other achievers,” in an exclusive interview to TNN.
Although she is in the spotlight, Dipa has refused to change her ways, and when asked how nothing has changed in the way she carried herself, she said, “I like it this way. I like being simple.”
The 23-year old, however, is tired as accolades and felicitation ceremonies have been lined up for her ever since her return from Rio. Asked if she was nervous, Dipa said that she is “slightly tired”. “I haven't had time to rest properly since returning,” she replied.
Dipa also talked about how she came up with the idea of going for the dangerous Produnova vault, which is now a household name in India. Dipa said, “It was my coach's idea. Produnova is the highest vault, and he told me that if I want to earn good marks and win medals at international tournaments, this is one opportunity we can look at. Even if I fall, I would still get good marks. I told him that I was ready and he told me that he was with me.
“Before the first tournament where I was to try the Produnova, everybody was scared and felt I shouldn't be doing it, fearing injury.
“Aisa nahi ki hamesha injury ka dar hota hai, abhi to mein expert ho gayi hun,” she said.
The Produnova is so dangerous that when asked before the Olympics if she would attempt it, Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of recent times, replied “I’m not trying to die.” Dipa had words of praise for the American teenager and said, “She is a champion and I got to meet her in Rio. She is incomparable, don't think any gymnast can match her. She told me that my routine on the vault should be called the 'Karmakar vault', not Produnova. I was so happy that I told myself that I will work very hard and one day, hopefully, there will be a vault in my name too.
Dipa also hoped that her state, Tripura would come back on the Indian sporting map soon. “Yes, there is a tradition of gymnastics in Tripura.”
“The state has had several good gymnasts. Daljeet sir from Punjab was the first one to start gymnastics in Tripura and a Russian team had also come visiting. It started from there... Then there was a small gap, but the sport is picking up again now. The future looks bright,” she told TNN.
The Olympian also had words of advice for youngsters aspiring to make it big in sports. “You have made a name for yourself with your performance and youngsters will soon begin to emulate your style. “I will just say listen to your coaches. Woh jis raste par chalate hai, unki baat suno,” she said.
Speaking about her experience in the final, Dipa relived what went behind the scenes while millions of Indians were glued to what was happening at the vaults.
“I had qualified in eighth position and I knew winning a medal would be difficult.
“Nandi sir explained to me that we have qualified in eighth place, so if we do well in the finals we will finish sixth or seventh, and if we fare badly we'll still be eighth, won't go below that. I was scared how my coach would react if I had a bad jump. But when he told me all that, I competed freely and did well on that day to finish fourth,” Dipa explained.
Dipa closed with the hope of going even higher, and aim for a medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She said, “We had only three months to prepare for the Olympics after my qualification and the focus was on properly executing whatever we do. But for Tokyo Olympics, we have four years to prepare,” reported TNN.
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