Dipa Karmakar has just announced her retirement from gymnastics, drawing to an end a glorious career in the sport of gymnastics, a sport India had not made a mark in until Dipa came.
The girl from Tripura had to cross many obstacles in her journey of becoming one of India’s finest-ever gymnasts and she reached the summit in 2016, when she represented India at the Olympics.
We at The Bridge have put together a collection of her achievements.
๐๐ง๐๐ข๐’๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ! ๐ฅน
“I still remember that five year old Dipa, who was told that because of her flat foot she can’t become a gymnast,” Dipa took social media to announce her farewellโฆ pic.twitter.com/L7Q3pApIHL
โ The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) October 7, 2024
First Indian to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games
๏ปฟThe 2014 Commonwealth Games was when Dipa Karmakar shot to fame, as she became the first Indian female gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Dipa won a bronze medal in the event and thus began her illustrious career.
๏ปฟ๏ปฟ2015 Asian and World Championships
๏ปฟShe followed her Commonwealth Games success with another bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Champions, the first Indian to do so.
She also finished fifth in the 2015 World Championships, yet again becoming the first Indian gymnast to achieve that feat.
But the best was yet to come for Dipa.
๏ปฟRio Olympics 2016
๏ปฟDipa became the first Indian female gymnast to compete at the Olympics when she represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She performed brilliantly, and finished fourth in her event, missing out on the bronze medal by just 0.15 points.
Her performance was marked by her Produnova vault, with Dipa being one of just five women to have successfully done the vault, known for its extreme difficulty in women’s gymnastics.
๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ2018 World Cup
๏ปฟThe crowning moment for the Indian came during the 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, held in Mersin, Turkey.
Participating in the event, Dipa won the gold medal, becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a gold medal at a global event.
She followed it with a bronze medal at the Cottbus World Cup in the same year.
๏ปฟ2024 Asian Championship
๏ปฟDipa won the gold medal in the 2024 Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championship, winning India’s only medal of the event.
๏ปฟAs Dipa draws a close on her wonderful career, her story and achievements serve as an inspiration to gymnasts all over India and hers is a story that should be celebrated for years to come.