Small town gymnast asks for modern equipment

Ranchi: Excited with her five gold-medal feat in the National Games, Tripura gymnast Dipa Karmakar feels she could be among the top Asian girls if given equipment used in China and Japan. "Gymnastics equipment used in Agartala is very primitive. Still I am happy to have won five gold medals (for Tripura) in the National Games and the credit goes to my coach Bisweshwar Nandi, a ten-time national gymnastics champion," Dipa said at the Mega Sports Complex here. "Though gymnasts in China, Japan and Korea use the state-of-the-art equipment at training centres, presently there isn`t much gap between them and India, unlike some years ago. And if provided such modern equipment at training centres, not only me but several others can be among top gymnasts in Asia," observed the 17-year-old gymnast. "Another difference between us and the Chinese, Koreans or Japanese is they do not make minor mistakes that we often commit. We also need to practice more to avoid such minor mistakes in order to beat them," said Dipa, who won gold medals in the allround individual event, balanced beam, table vault, uneven bars and floor exercises. She grew up watching her father Dulal Karmakar, a weightlifting coach with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), taking her to the gym. "I was introduced to gymnastics by my father when I was six years old. Later, I went on to play the sub-junior, the junior and senior nationals before representing the country in the World Championship, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games," Dipa said. "But my life`s best moment came in Ranchi on February 19 when I became the allround individual champion in my first appearance in the National Games. I was very very excited after bagging four more gold medals, indeed," she added. A keen follower of American gymnast Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, Dipa said, "I am working hard to emulate Nastia Liukin. But again it depends on the equipment which I get in the training centre." Her coach said, "I have always told her she has loads of talent, and can do wonders in gymnastics." Though job offers are coming her way, she said, "I am still 17. I have to wait for another one year." PTI