CWG gymnastics bronze medallist Dipa Karmakar given grand welcome in Tripura

Dipa Karmakar

Agartala, Aug 4 (IANS): The Tripura government accorded a grand reception Monday to Dipa Karmakar, the first Indian woman and second gymnast from the country to clinch a Commonwealth Games medal in artistic gymnastics.

Hundreds of sports lovers, officials, followers, admirers and well-wishers received Dipa on her arrival at the Agartala airport from New Delhi before a motorcade of hundreds of vehicles and two-wheelers went around the capital city Agartala and held a huge reception ceremony.

"I would try utmost to get gold medals in the forthcoming Asian games in South Korea. I shall try to deliver my best in the future attempts," Dipa, who won the women's vault bronze in Glasgow Thursday, said at the reception ceremony.

"I would be happy if more gymnasts produced from Tripura and earn the triumph for the country and the state. I will help at my level best to other gymnasts to build their career," she said.

Tripura Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sahid Choudhury said: "Dipa has not only made people of Tripura proud, but of the country as well. We would like to see other young men and women follow Dipa. Government should positively help them in their endeavours."

Dipa won the Commonwealth bronze with an average score of 14.366. The 20-year-old had scored a mere 13.633 points in the first Vault, the lowest out of eight competitors in the final. However, in a remarkable comeback Thursday night, Dipa scored the highest in the second Vault with 15.100 to bring up her average to 14.366.

Dipa, who is a five-time national overall individual champion five consecutive times between 2010-2014, is a physical instructor under Tripura's sports and youth affairs department.

In the 34th National Games held in Ranchi (Jharkhand) in February 2011, Dipa won five gold medals in Floor, Vault, All Round, Balance beam and Uneven Bars.

She was keen on sports since childhood, when she would play at her ancestral home at Abhaynagar in the outskirts of Agartala.

"But she opted for gymnastics once she visited the Netaji Subhas Regional Coaching centre when she was studying in Class VI, and there was no looking back," said Dipa's father Dulal Karmakar.

Dulal, an SAI (Sports Authority of India) coach in weightlifting, told IANS: "Now the Arjuna award is not far away for Dipa. She needs more technical and financial support to earn more skills in gymnastics to get new rewards and accolades."

"We are very happy with our daughter's performance. Her recognition was also because of her coach Bisweswar Nandi who has worked very hard for her, and Dipa had done a lot according to his coaching," Dulal added.

Arjuna award-winning gymnast Mantu Debnath said: "Tripura has young men and women who have enormous skills in gymnastics and they would show their performance if they got appropriate support and encouragement."