While entire India was busy waiting for the IPL final result between KKR and SRH to start, the country seemed to have missed a special achievement by ace gymnast Dipa Karmakar. The 2016 Rio Olympian Dipa, scripted history on Sunday as she became first from the country to win a gold medal in the women’s vault at the Asian Gymnastics Championships 2024 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The magnitude of the achievement is huge, as India previously had only four medals at the championships. Dipa Karmakar had herself won a bronze in the same vault event in 2015. Ashish Kumar had won a bronze in men’s floor exercise in 2006, while Pranati Nayak won in women’s vault in 2019 and 2022.
Dipa Karmakar Shines Bright at Asian Gymnastics Championships
In the vault final, Dipa had a final score of 13.566. And with that, she beat Korea’s Kim Son-hyang (13.466) and Jo Kyong-byol (12.966). But as far as the overall category is concerned, she finished a paltry 16th with a score 46.166, and failed to make cut for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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The Philippines’ Emma Malabuyo, who eventually finished third, grabbed the only Paris 2024 quota on offer at the Asian Gymnastics Championships. She scored 50.398.
Dipa, The Best that India Has
The 30-year-old is one of the most successful Indian gymnasts. She had come tantalisingly close to bagging an Olympics medal in women’s vault at the Rio 2016 Games. She is a former CWG bronze medalist as well, that came way back in 2014.