Dipa Karmakar doesn't cease to surprise us every day. The flat-footed gymnast who nearly didn't take up the sport but later got India recognition at the 2016 Olympics is back in the news. This year in October, the stellar gymnast Dipa Karmakar returned her BMW, which was awarded to her for her performance at this year’s Rio Olympics. Her reason? She needed the money instead. The money would be pumped back into her training.
Dipa instead bought herself new Hyundai Elantra, partially spent from the Rs 25 lakh she was offered after returning the BMW.
Dipa had given powerpacked performances at the podium after qualifying as the first Indian gymnast for the Olympic finals. She might have missed a bronze medal by a whisker but each and every Indian would laud her for performing the ‘vault of death’ -- the Produnova. She is one of the few gymnasts in the world to do such stunts.
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The BMW was returned for many reasons. Some reports suggest it was due to the car’s high maintenance cost, and lack of a BMW service centre in Agartala and narrow and potholed roads. There are those who believe she was also uncomfortable with driving a luxury vehicle when she could use all those funds for something more long term such as training herself for the next milestone.
“Considering her situation, Dipa was given cash amounting to Rs 25 lakh. Her family bought a car recently, and it was a brand that has a service center in Agartala,” Karmakar’s coach Bisweswar Nandi told Hindustan Times.
Earlier, Dipa was handed over the keys of the BMW by Sachin Tendulkar, also BMW’s brand ambassador. Two other Rio medalists – shuttler PV Sindhu and wrestler Sakshi Malik and Sindhu’s coach P Gopichand were also gifted BMWs.
Feature Picture credit- India.com
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