Dipa Karmakar Declares Her Next Objective is to Win 2016 Rio Olympics Medal
Dipa Karmakar, who became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, said she would work hard for a medal at the Games in August
Highlights
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Dipa Karmakar, 22, hails from Agartala, Tripura
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She has won CWG and Asian Championship bronze medals
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She is first Indian gymnast in 52 years to qualify for Olympics
Dipa Karmakar, after becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, has set her eyes on a podium finish at the Games in August. (Dipa Karmakar Becomes First Indian Woman to Qualify For 2016 Rio Olympics Gymnastics)
The 22-year-old from Tripura garnered a total score of 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event on Monday to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games. (Dipa Karmakar Wins Gold in Vaults, After Historic 2016 Rio Olympic Qualification)
"It is a good feeling to win a gold medal," Dipa was quoted as saying in the official facebook page of the International Federation of Gymnastics. (2014 Commonwealth Games: Emergence of Dipa Karmakar)
"My next objective is an Olympic medal podium," she said, after clinching the gold in vaults finals at the test event of the Rio Games. "Will try my best in Rio," she told NDTV.
The Tripura girl scored 14.833 as her best effort to finish first in the women's vaults finals at the Rio Olympic Arena. She defeated 2008 Olympic silver medallist Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan.
Apart from being the first Indian woman, she will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the quadrennial extravaganza after 52 long years.
Since the independence of the country, 11 Indian male gymnast have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964) but this will be the first for an Indian woman at the Olympics.
(With Inputs from Suprita Das)