Dipa Karmakar becomes first Indian gymnast ever to qualify for Olympics

NEW DELHI: Top Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian gymnast ever to secure an Olympic berth by garnering a total score of 52.698 points.

Her first vault, the much difficult Produnova, gave Dipa 15.066 points, the highest among the 14 competitors. But a poor show in the uneven bars took her points down as she collected 11.700, the second worse among the 14 participants.

The Tripura girl secured 13.366 and 12.566 points in beam and floor exercises to be assured of the berth.
The 22-year-old could not clinch an Olympic berth in the World Championships in November last as she finished outside the podium (fifth place).

Dipa was earlier put as second reserve for the ongoing Olympic Test event in Rio but was informed last month that she had sneaked into the shortlist of participants.

Dipa had created history by becoming the first woman gymnast to win a medal — a bronze — in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. She then became the first Indian woman gymnast to feature in the finals of World Championships in November last.

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Source:Timesofindia

Dipa Karmakar