‘I was sad for years’ Dipa Karmakar’s rise from doping suspension and injuries to becoming India’s first Asian champion

“For the first time I was scared whenever she went airborne in training, worried that there should not be any confusion in her head because that can lead to an accident where one can break their neck. Even if she missed her timing by slightest margin, because she was thinking wrongly, the knee would be a goner,” he recalls after they chose the Tsukahara 720 with double twists, one of the tougher vaults. Her second was a Handspring 360 with single rotation, clipping the difficulty on her signature Produnova which she would never be able to pull off again after the knee was busted.

It’s been a long journey but we are finally here. Grateful. 🥇🙏🏽 🇮🇳#AsianGymnasticsChampionship pic.twitter.com/IDlsQP7bA6

— Dipa Karmakar (@DipaKarmakar) May 26, 2024

In the preliminary round at Tashkent, Dipa copped a full-point penalty deduction and she scraped through, qualifying in 8th position. “I told her we got lucky to qualify after her stumble. But in finals, she had to stick a landing if she wanted to finish on the podium. All I was thinking of was she finishes safely because a third knee injury would’ve meant she might have suffered a life-long limp. So I kept talking to her in a way her mind wasn’t cluttered,” he says.

The gold came after some perfect synchronicity of 13.566 on both vaults. On the Tsukahara valued at Difficulty of 5.2, Dipa scored 8.466 in execution, and on the Handspring (D score of 5.0), she scored 8.666, averaging 13.566, ahead of two Koreans. Nandi says the medal means the world to her.

“Doping suspension mein bohot badnaami hua (defamed). She said she wanted to answer back with at least one good performance. Bohot zyada khunnas tha uske dimag mein (deep desire to avenge). I also told her she has to win a medal. But the fear was josh mein hosh na kho baithe (lose one’s senses). If she sped too much and the timing was off, mistakes can happen,” he says. He kept his fears of twisties to himself, but spent most of the time strengthening her knees, to stick the crucial landing. It’s the highest she’s scored on the Tsukahara 720.

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar with coach Bisheshwar Nandi after winning the gold in vault to become the first Indian gymnast to win continental title in the Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (PTI Photo)

Dipa meanwhile had kept Olympic qualification hopes alive and participated in All Around, but didn’t do too well there. It was another disappointment after the previous World Cups, and Indian entries weren’t even sent to Germany.

“I had been too sad for a few years now. I was sick of feeling sad so I wanted a medal badly,” she says. “The doping suspension hurt because I believed I hadn’t done anything wrong, and on some days I saw no point in continuing to live. But when I started practicing again, I knew I couldn’t leave the sport without giving one last try,” she says.

Dipa has always been a confident gymnast, not scared of risking difficult manouvres and approaching the vault with a clear head. “My body can’t take the training load as before but I’m technically very strong. Once the competition series starts, I don’t care who’s ahead of me, who’s behind me, I visualise my routine and give it 100 percent. I’m not scared,” she stresses.

But throughout that phase when she served out her ban and became a pariah, she would dream of a comeback. “It was an odd mental state. I started avoiding anything that made me happy. Certain foods I liked I sacrificed to stay fit. But if I realised I am enjoying some music, I would shut the song and never listen to it again. Or if I began enjoying scrolling social media, I would throw the phone away for days. I felt guilty about being happy when my gymnastics had stopped,” she recalls.

It’s why she celebrated the Asian Championship gold hogging a McDonalds burger, just like after her 4th place finish at the Rio Olympics. “I’ll stay in practice till the Olympics and see if a reserve spot opens up, but it’s tough,” she says. Nandi reckons she might not continue for too long after that in the sport.

He adds that he’s never known a gymnast in India like Dipa, which saw him work beyond his retirement for three extra years to help her get redemption. “See, India is a massive country and you might just find someone even better than her in the future. But I’ve never seen anyone as dedicated, stubborn, fearless, aggressive and a focussed gymnast like Dipa. I doubt I ever will. This gold rewards that zidd (tenacity),“ he says.