Rio 2016: Dipa Karmakar wants to inspire a new generation

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar received a rapturous welcome on her return from the Rio Olympics in New Delhi on Saturday. (Photo: Biplab Banerjee)

Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar returned home to a rousing welcome on Saturday but the pain of missing out on a medal by a whisker was writ large on her face.

“I am happy to be back to such a reception. I feel like a champion... but if I had a medal in my hand it would have been much better. I will definitely win a medal in Tokyo,” Dipa told this paper here.

“The Rio Olympics is in the past now and I will focus on the 2018 Asian Games and other tournaments in between. Before that I have my MA exams next week and I want to give it my best shot. I will keep working hard to get medals for the country,” the 23-year-old added.

Last week when she missed the bronze by 0.15 of a point, Dipa wept whole night, but on the day the petite girl was back in her elements with toothy smile on display.

She went to mix with aspiring gymnasts at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in the evening before meeting other young athlete to motivate them.

“I want to inspire a new generation and want more and more kids to come up and take up gymnastics. We have a pool of talents in our country and now we have good equipment as well. Hopefully in the next Olympics we will have more faces,” said the Tripura girl, who became the country’s first woman gymnast to qualify for the Summer Games.

Asked whether she wanted to now have a foreign coach instead, Dipa said, “There is no need of that.. Indian coaches are well equipped. If I had trained under a foreign coach I doubt I would have even qualified for Rio. I give full credit to my coach (B.S. Nandi) for my success.”

Asserting that nothing had changed in her life, Karmakar was proud that she brought gymnastics into limelight in the country. “My life is still the same, I am still a gymnast, I still want to win a medal. But yes,I feel nice that because of me people got to know about gymnastic in India.”

‘Six more gymnasts in next Olympics’ Nandi was happy with the facilities at the IG Stadium and promised in the coming Olympics “we will have six new faces to be ready to represent the country”.

“We have all the modern equipment here and I have also requested the Sports Authority of India and the ministry to provide us a set of apparatus back home in Agartala as well. Hopefully in the next Olympics I have three more Dipas and three men in the artistic gymnastics,” the coach said.

Dipa will be on a 20-day break before resuming training.