Dipa Karmakar India's Most Successful Gymnast

A tete-a-tete with India’s first woman gymnast in Olympics.

- Vijayan Bala

23-year-old Dipa Karmakar is without doubt India’s finest gymnast to date. In the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, she became the first Indian woman gymnast to win a bronze medal. She also won a bronze at the 2015 Hiroshima Asian Gymnastics Championships. These performances resulted in the Government of India conferring on her the Arjuna Award for 2015.

The year 2016 proved a great year for Dipa. In April, she became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. At the Rio Olympics, Dipa narrowly missed winning a medal — finishing fourth in the women’s vault. The Government of India honoured Dipa by conferring on her the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2016. The Tripura Government promoted her to the post of Assistant Director. Alive met Dipa recently in Delhi and spoke to her about her career in Gymnastics.

Excerpts: When and how did you take to Gymnastics?

To be frank, gymnastics is in my blood as my father, who is a weightlifting coach with the Sports Authority of India, was initially getting training in gymnastics before he switched to weightlifting. I started practising gymnastics at the age of six first with madam Soma Nandi as coach. After being coached by her for about three years, madam Soma Nandi’s husband Bisheshwar Nandi sir took me under his wings. I have been with him since then. Whatever I have achieved has been due to both of them.

What role has your coach Bisheshwar Nandi played in your achievements to date?