India’s ace gymnast Dipa Karmakar revealed how she rose from the doping suspension to script a historic Gold medal at the Asian Senior Championships 2024. She entered the record books by becoming the first Indian gymnast to win gold at women’s vault event in Asian Senior Championships in Tashkent on Sunday, May 26.
The 30-year-old gymnast from Tripura finally get her hands on the yellow metal after a series of blows to her personal and professional career. She missed out on Summer Olympic Games qualification for the second time in a row and served a 23-month doping suspension last year.
Karmakar talked about her desire to win a medal after going through a suspension and fitness issues in last couple of years. Once again, she denied her involvement in doping and added that she wanted to give one last try at Gold after started practicing again.
“I had been too sad for a few years now,” Dipa Karmakar told IndianExpress. “I was sick of feeling sad so I wanted a medal badly. 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.
“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.”
Karmakar made the headlines after clinching a Bronze in the 2015 edition of the Asian Championships in China and then finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, she missed the Paris Olympics qualification despite recording a score of 46.166 in the Asian Championships, the final qualifier.
