Asian Games are very tough but I will give it my best, says Dipa Karmakar
Dipa Karmakar, who won the gold medal in the recently concluded World Challenge Cup, pointed out that Asiad is tough especially for gymnasts, but insisted that she would give it her best shot. She added that she was confident of making a comeback and getting back to the highest level once again.
The 24-year-old gymnast, won gold at the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup at Mersin, Turkey opting for the Handspring 360 and Tsukuhara 720 vaults, scoring 14.150 to top the podium. She had topped the qualification as well, recording a score of 13.400. Although, the bigger test for Karmakar would be the Asian Games starting
“The Asian Games are very tough, especially in gymnastics where China, Japan, Korea will compete and we have Oksana Chusovitina as well. If you see the Olympics, at least six of the top eight are from Asian countries so
Karmakar underwent an ACL surgery right after her best performance at the Rio Olympics. Because of the injury, she had to miss the Asian Championship, World Championship in Canada as well as the 2018 Commonwealth Games as she completed the long rehab to get back in shape following the surgery. Karmakar stated that it was a tough time for her but she took it in her stride.
“Yes, I was upset but then everything can’t go right all the time, sometimes bad things happen,” she said. “It is something that happens to all sportspersons, whether it is injury or form. I missed three to four competitions, including the World Championship. When the team used to leave for these events, I was feeling low but I knew I would make a comeback.”
Karmakar revealed that she was focused to recover from the injury and people around her kept her motivated during that tough time.
“After the long gap I was focusing on recovery,” she said. “I was still training, if not always with the apparatus. Mentally as well, I was working on it. I had a lot of support from my surgeon Dr Anant Joshi, my physios and psychologist and, of course, my coach [Bishweshwar Nandi]. All of them kept me motivated throughout.”
Karmakar also had a chance to win another medal at the World Challenge Cup. She had qualified in balance beam finals by finishing third in the qualification with a score of
“I had hopes for one more medal there, I came fourth in the balance beam. Once again, the medal was lost by one point,” she added.