5 sports where India should be excelling, but isn't yet

4) Gymnastics

Dipa Karmakar in action at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games

Every single edition of the modern Summer Olympics that started in 1896 has had gymnastics as an integral part of it. Out of those 27 times, however, India has been represented in a meagre three versions, towards in the middle of the 20th century.

History stands witness to the Indians' prowess across various disciplines like floor exercise and parallel bars that are contested in gymnastics. One of the greatest ironies to show for our dismal Olympics' fortune is the fact that the event of Indian clubs at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics did not have a participant from India.

Largely misconceived as a circus entity for years, gymnastics had its first ever Indian medal-winner in 2010 when Ashish Kumar clinched Commonwealth bronze in Delhi. Almost inevitably, the governing bodies were awakened to the possibilities, and we started making progress.

Finally, like a gust of cool, refreshing air, Tripura-girl Dipa Karmakar stormed into the scene, first with a spectacular Produnova at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and then with a historic Olympic qualification for Rio 2016, thus becoming the first ever Indian woman to do so.