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Dipa Karmakar first Indian gymnast to win gold at Asian Championships

Dipa Karmakar clinched the gold in the women’s vault event in Tashkent with an average score of 13.566 in the final.

This victory is a significant milestone for Dipa Karmakar, who had previously finished fourth in the vault final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Photo: X/@Media_SAI)

By: Vivek Mishra

Dipa Karmakar made history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a gold medal at the Asian Senior Championships.

She clinched the gold in the women’s vault event in Tashkent with an average score of 13.566 in the final.

North Korean gymnasts Kim Son Hyang and Jo Kyong Byol took the silver and bronze medals with scores of 13.466 and 12.966, respectively.

This victory is a significant milestone for Dipa, who had previously finished fourth in the vault final at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2015 Asian Championships.

Ashish Kumar had previously won a bronze medal in the individual floor exercise at the 2015 Asian Championships, while Pranati Nayak also secured bronze medals in the vault event in both the 2019 and 2022 editions.

“History created at The Asian Gymnastics Championship. Inspirational, Dipa! Congratulations on the #Gold,” tweeted the Sports Authority of India.

Dipa, who hails from Tripura, also achieved another significant feat by winning a gold medal in the vault at the 2018 FIG World Cup in Mersin, Turkey. This made her the first Indian to win a gold medal at a global gymnastics event.

However, Dipa’s journey has not been without challenges. She returned to action last year after a 21-month suspension for a doping offense. Despite her recent gold, she is out of contention for the upcoming Paris Olympics, having finished 16th in the all-round category with a score of 46.166 in the current Asian Championship, which serves as the final Olympic qualifier.

Earlier this year, Dipa finished fourth in the vault final at the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Doha in April. She had also skipped the World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, held from February 22-25, after finishing fifth in the Cairo World Cup from February 15-18.

(PTI)