Dipa Karmakar wins vault event to become first Indian gold medalist at Asian Championships
Dipa Karmakar created history once more by becoming India's first-ever gold medalist at the Asian Championships. The gymnast from Tripura won gold in the vault event of the ongoing championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Sunday, May 26.
On Sunday, the 30-year-old Indian veteran achieved an average score of 13.566 to take the top position. She was followed by DPR Korea's Kim Son-hyang, who scored 13.466 for silver, and Jo Kyong-byol of the same country, who managed 12.966 to win bronze.
This gold comes as a sort of redemption for the Indian Olympian as she suffered a 21-month ban from the sport due to a doping violation. She returned to action last year after serving her penalty.
However, Indian fans won't be able to see her in action at the Paris 2024 Olympics. On Friday, Dipa finished 16th in the all-round event and therefore, didn't win an Olympic spot for her country.
It's worth remembering that Dipa Karmakar became a superstar following her exploits at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She not only became the first Indian female gymnast to compete at the Summer Games but finished fourth in the vault final.
This performance has shown that though she might no longer be the sprightly young athlete of the past, she still has a lot to offer to Indian sports.
India's other medals at Asian Championships, including Dipa Karmakar's bronze
This was India's fifth medal at the continental championships. However, all previous medals were bronzes. One of them was won by Karmakar herself, in 2015. The other three medals were won by Pranati Nayak (twice, in 2019 and 2021), and Ashish Kumar (2006).
Ashish won his medal on home soil, in Surat, in floor exercise. Nayak and Karmakar, on the other hand, won both their medals in the vault category.
One can only hope that this medal boosts the popularity of gymnastics in India. While athletics has seen robust growth in India and the country's athletes have been very successful at the Asian level, gymnastics still lags. Dipa Karmakar can be the inspirational figure to change that.