Gymnast Dipa Karmakar set for comeback in Nationals after 8 years

Bhubaneswar: All eyes will be on Olympian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, as she makes her comeback at the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships on Wednesday at the Kalinga Stadium. The ace gymnast, India’s first female Olympian in gymnastics, is set to compete in the nationals for the first time since 2015.

Dipa, who narrowly missed an Olympic medal with a fourth-place finish, served a 21-month doping suspension until July 10, 2023. Despite topping the selection trials for the Asian Games squad, she was excluded from the final list due to criteria issues.

The national comeback is pivotal for Dipa as she aims to gear up for a shot at a Paris Olympics quota.

“Dipa expressed her interest in this competition and sought my assistance in preparation. She has injury concerns and though we have prepared well, we will be careful,” Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi told the reporters here.

Besides Dipa, the three-day championships for both men and women, which began on Tuesday, has several big names like Pranati Nayak, Rakesh Patra, Yogeshwar Singh vying for the title.

On the opening day, Odisha’s Rakesh Kumar Patra starred in all-around as he finished on top, while Railways clinched the Gold medal with 293.00 points. He recorded 12.15 points on Floor Exercise, 11.35 on Pommel Horse, 14.15 on Rings, 12.75 on Vault, 12.20 on Parallel Bars and 12.45 on Horizontal Bars.

“I am extremely happy to have finished on top in the all-around. This feat makes it even sweeter as I achieved it at my home, in front of my people, and at the place where I train.I am now looking forward to giving my best in the individual competition on the final day of the championship,” he said in a statement.