Gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who won accolades at the Rio Olympics for performing the ‘vault of death’ — the Produnova, is skipping the World Gymnastics Championships as she is recovering slowly from a knee surgery. All is not well with this stellar gymnast since the past few months. In fact, Dipa has not appeared in any competition since her historic fourth place finish in the Rio Olympics.
Though she may have missed the bronze medal by a whisker, the nation would always remember her triumphs as she is the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Rio Olympics last year, cracking the long overdue participation drought.
Also Read: Dipa Karmakar, Sakshi Malik And Alia Bhatt In Forbes’ Under-30 Achievers’ List
Dipa underwent the knee surgery in April. She could not take part in the Asian Championships earlier this year due to the anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
The star gymnast had tweeted then:
Reportedly, she is now in rehab that will last for at least six months before she can resume training.
"There is not much you can do in case of an injury. It is frustrating as an athlete but I won't call it a setback. Though it is surely a challenge," Karmakar told PTI. The World Championships is slated to be held in Canada in October.
READ: Dipa Karmakar – The First Indian Woman Gymnast At Olympics, Is Craving For More
Currently, Karmakar is camping at the IG Stadium under her coach Bisweshwar Nandi. The young gymnast has pulled up her socks and slowing getting back to training. Rigorous training is not possible before the rehab sessions are over.
"I would not want that she goes to the championship for mere participation. And it won't be possible for her to be fully ready for the big event," said Nandi while mentioning that he needs her to be fully competition-ready for the World Championships and therefore the focus shifts to the Commonwealth and Asian Games next year.
"Coming back after an injury is a challenge but then you also have to keep in mind that you can also get injured in the competition. Like it happened with one of the participants in Rio. Gymnastics is a dangerous sport at all times," he added.
Karmakar, who is now focusing on her fitness and studies, said, "I gave one MA exam last year, now I am preparing for another."
As for a long term vision, she is focused on the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
"One of the gymnasts who took part in Rio was 43 years old. So if she can do it, I can too," said Dipa, when asked about the age factor
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