We asked, Dipa answered!

August, 2016.

Picture this: Your lifelong aspiration is to snag a gymnastics medal at the Olympics in Rio. After years of relentless training, you've taken your dedication to a new level of obsession. Every day, you're locked in a marathon of repetitive drills, obsessively perfecting every facet of your routines. You push yourself to the brink, devoting a gruelling six hours to an endless cycle of tumbling, leaping, somersaulting, and defying gravity. Truly, what's life without a little daily self-flagellation in the name of Olympic glory?

You have just conjured up the daily grind of Dipa Karmakar, hailing from Tripura's Agartala, who's also India's most successful gymnast of all time.

Watching Karmakar execute the ‘Produnova', the so-called ‘vault of death', led the best of us to question whether Newton ever truly understood gravity. Her leaps were so astonishing they practically made us wonder if she had figured out a way to sidestep the laws of physics altogether.

Her Rio performance, although Karmakar returned medalless, was a striking blend of gruelling athleticism, breathtaking grace, and a show of seemingly effortless perfection that was almost annoyingly flawless.

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As she thundered towards the vaulting table, one couldn't help but wonder how much she weighed, given the way she catapulted into a series of twists before sticking the landing. She maintained her concerned expression right up until her second vault, the ‘Produnova', an act that apparently went on to make her a household name.

"I was always ready to do the Produnova vault. I did not have any inhibitions. I always want to try difficult vaults. I was ready to put in the effort and worked continuously on my fitness and speed. I learned from the original routine of Elena Produnova by watching her videos. I was enthusiastic about executing the vault on the world stage. There was no element of fear. I am lucky that I got a coach like Nandi Sir and he is a big reason why I was able to perform the vault. My family supported me too. The journey was really tough but I have made it till here only because of their support. Today, people know me because of the Produnova vault," Karmakar told Sunday Guardian.

Karmakar was still in the medal race until Russia's Maria Paseka made her final vault, her score not only eclipsed Karmakar's but also surpassed Swiss gymnast Giulia Steingruber's, leaving only USA's Simone Biles to complete her routine.

At that point, it was almost comical to speculate on the outcome: Biles, with her collection of three golds and a bronze, seemed to defy the very limits of human capability. On that night, Biles didn't just compete, she decimated her rivals with such an impressive margin that it was as if she were operating on a different plane of existence.

As for Karmakar, after executing two remarkable vaults in the final, she was left waiting for her score while the cameras hovered, capturing every moment of her anticipation.

Her earlier wide-eyed anxiety had vanished. Instead, she wore a confident smile and offered a casual wave to the cameras, exuding a mild air of swagger. It was clear she had delivered a performance worth noting, despite eventually finishing second and then fourth. The contrast between her nerves and her composed demeanour post-performance was striking.

But how fate played its usual charming tricks on her and India!

In the end, it wasn't just about the final standings but the sheer audacity and skill she displayed.

It's all that matters, really.

Cut to present.

Now 30, Karmakar has amassed a rich collection of life's little inconveniences. She has navigated two career-threatening ACL tears, undergone not one but two surgeries, weathered the bitter experience of a doping ban, and missed out on Olympic qualification for the second consecutive time (first Tokyo, then Paris).

Of course, there's no guarantee that she will snag a spot on the Olympic team in Los Angeles. Her training marches on, but she's up against a veritable army of elite Indian gymnasts.

But Karmakar, I tell you, is known to laugh in the face of fear. In the grand scheme of things, it is just a minor obstacle course to navigate before she can bask in Olympic glory.