Dipa Karmakar set to play Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships after 8 years

Dipa Karmakar, India's renowned gymnast, is gearing up to mark a triumphant return to the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships. She will participate among the notable partakers like Tokyo Olympian Pranati Nayak, Tapan Mohanty, Saif Tamboli, Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh Patra, and Gaurav Kumar, among others.

Notably, it will be Dipa's first participation in the national championships since 2015 and is expected to be her last. It will be exciting to see how she will do in the championship after a hiatus of eight years. Bisweswar Nandi, who is the Olympian's coach, showed faith in his ward and is optimistic about seeing the 30-year-old qualify for the Paris Olympics despite the challenges.

Dipa Karmakar, who is recovering well from a lingering knee injury, intends to play multiple international events in 2024. Her performance in the selection trials will be extremely important for making it to the Indian team.

Nandi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI:

"She is gradually reaching her 100 per cent and will compete in few international events next year. Of course, she will have to do well in the selection trials to be in the Indian team,"

"Dipa will compete at the Senior nationals. The last time she had participated at the domestic event was in 2015. This will be her last nationals."

The Tripura-born's exclusion from the recently concluded Asian Games 2022 provoked fuss. It was because Dipa topped the trials yet could not meet the selection parameters set by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Moreover, she faced a 21-month ban earlier for a doping violation which halted her participation in tournaments.

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Odisha set to host junior senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships

The National Championships is divided into Junior and Senior categories and is likely to have a wide pool of 750 participants. Odisha's Gymnastics Centre at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, provided with avant-garde training facilities, is all set to embrace the event. Notably, the senior events will kick off on January 2.

Arranged by the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, in association with the Odisha Gymnastics Association and the Gymnastics Federation of India, the championships is a vital component of the 2023-24 season.

With 28 affiliated units from the Gymnastics Federation of India taking part, this event strives to provide a national platform for gymnasts to portray their skills.