We asked, Dipa answered!

August 2016Picture this Your lifelong aspiration is to snag a gymnastics medal at the Olympics in Rio After years of relentless training youve taken your dedication to a new level of obsession Every day yoursquore 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 whatrsquos life without a little daily selfflagellation in the name of Olympic gloryYou have just conjured up the daily grind of Dipa Karmakar hailing from Tripurarsquos Agartala whorsquos also Indias most successful gymnast of all timeWatching Karmakar execute the lsquoProdunovarsquo the socalled lsquovault of deathrsquo 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 altogetherHer 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 flawlessAlso ReadNishad Kumar Losing a hand regaining a lifeAs she thundered towards the vaulting table one couldnrsquot 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 lsquoProdunovarsquo an act that apparently went on to make her a household nameldquoI 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 vaultrdquo Karmakar told Sunday GuardianKarmakar was still in the medal race until Russiarsquos Maria Paseka made her final vault her score not only eclipsed Karmakarrsquos but also surpassed Swiss gymnast Giulia Steingruberrsquos leaving only USArsquos Simone Biles to complete her routineAt 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 didnrsquot just compete she decimated her rivals with such an impressive margin that it was as if she were operating on a different plane of existenceAs 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 anticipationHer earlier wideeyed 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 postperformance was strikingBut how fate played its usual charming tricks on her and IndiaIn the end it wasnrsquot just about the final standings but the sheer audacity and skill she displayedItrsquos all that matters reallyCut to presentNow 30 Karmakar has amassed a rich collection of lifersquos little inconveniences She has navigated two careerthreatening 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 ParisOf course therersquos no guarantee that she will snag a spot on the Olympic team in Los Angeles Her training marches on but shersquos up against a veritable army of elite Indian gymnastsBut 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