Indian Golden Girl Dipa Karmakar & Her Inspiring Journey to the Olympics

Dipa Karmakar – India’s First Woman Gymnast to Win A Commonwealth Medal

Dipa Karmakar is a 28 years old Indian gymnast and the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics and win a medal in the Commonwealth Games. She is also the only 5th woman in the world who has successfully landed on the Produnova. It is the most difficult vault in gymnastics and, many gymnasts hesitate to perform this. Dipa is also the recipient of various honorary awards from the Government of India. Let’s get to know the story of this golden girl who has made our country proud at the international level.

Dipa Karmakar Bio – Statistics

• Full Name - Dipa Karmakar
• Date of Birth - 9 August 1993 (28 years)
• Place of Birth - Agartala, Tripura, India
• Country - India
• Height - 4 ft 11 in
• Wight - 47 kg
• Sport - Women’s artistic gymnastics
• Head Coach - Bishweshar Nandi
• Zodiac Sign - Leo

Dipa Karmakar Story - Early Life

Dipa started practicing gymnast at a very young age of 6 years. She completed her education at Abhoynagar Nazrul Smriti Vidyalaya. She received her coaching from Bishweshwar Nandi and Soma Nandi.

In the initial days, Dipa didn’t have the ideal body type for the gymnast. She had flat feet and a stiff body. But, due to rigorous training and hard work, she built a perfect body and an arch in her feet. She is also the winner of the Junior National in 2008.

Dipa Karmakar Success - Family and Personal Life

Dipa was born to Dulal Karmakar and Gouri Karmakar. Her father is a weightlifting coach at the Sports Authority of India and, her mother is a housewife. Dipa’s father played a crucial role in her life and encouraged her to pursue her career in gymnastics.

She was a notorious girl in her childhood. Therefore, her parents decided to channelize all her energy into a sport. They supported her at every step and kept motivating her to perform well.

Dipa Karmakar – Career

• Commonwealth Games - Dipa won a bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games with a score of 14.366. After this win, she became the first Indian female gymnast to secure a podium finish in the Commonwealth Games.
• Asian Games - Karmankar failed to secure a medal in the 2014 Asian games as she finished fourth on the vault with a score of 14.2. Unfortunately, she couldn’t qualify for the 2018 Asian Games due to a knee injury.
• Asian Championships - In the Asian Championship 2018 held in Hiroshima. Dipa won a bronze medal by finishing 8th on the vault.
• FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup - Dipa won a gold medal in the GIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup held in Turkey. She became the first Indian gymnast to secure a gold medal in an international event. She also finished fourth in this tournament in the balance beam event.
• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Dipa became the first Indian woman to qualify for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2015. She qualified for the finals and secured 5th place in the final round with an average score of 14.683.

Dipa Karmakar – Olympics

• Rio 2016 Olympics - Dipa became the first female gymnast from India to qualify for the Olympics in August 2016 with an average score of 14. She missed the podium finish and came fourth in the finals with a score of 15.066.
• Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Indians had a lot of expectations from Dipa for this Tokyo 2020 Olympics. But unfortunately, Dipa failed to qualify for it due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and constant injuries. She is still recovering from her injuries and will come back soon.

Dipa Karmakar Bio - Medals

Dipa has won more than 70 medals in International, National, and State events. Some of the medals won by her are as follows:

• Bronze - Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, 2014 (vault)
• Bronze - Asian Championships, Hiroshima, 2015 (vault)

Dipa Karmakar - Awards and Achievements

Some of the awards and achievements of Dipa are as follows:

• Arjuna Award - By Government of India, 2015
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award - By Government of India, 2016
• Padma Shri - By Government of India, 2017
• Featured in Forbes Super Achievers from Asia under 30 - By Forbes Magazine
• Gold medal - At FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup, Mersin, Turkey
• Bronze medal - At FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, Cottbus, Germany

Dipa Karmakar - Unknown Facts

Some of the unknown facts about Karmakar are as follows:

• It is interesting to know that Dipa had a fear of falling. Hence, it was difficult for her to perform on the beam.
• Dipa practiced the Produnova vault almost 100 times.
• She practices for more than seven hours in one day.
• She is enrolled under TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) by the Sports Ministry of India and received INR 30 lakhs in funding.
• Dipa never neglected her studies because of sports. She gave her MA exams soon after coming back from the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Dipa Karmakar - Fans and Following

Dipa is a world-famous gymnast and, her popularity is incomparable. She is also active on her various social media accounts. Dipa posts things related to her training, personal life, tournaments, etc.

She has more than 40 thousand followers on Instagram and almost 270 thousand followers on Twitter.

Dipa Karmakar - Brand Endorsements

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar also gifted her a brand-new BMW after the Olympics. But Dipa sold that car in just a year of receiving the gifts due to the lack of service centers in the town and bad road conditions.

Fun Fact - Dipa’s popularity increased after the Summer Rio 2016 Olympics. She received contracts worth INR 40-50 lakhs after the tournament.

Dipa Karmakar - The Fearless Woman

Dipa is one of the few women in India who has made her name at the international level. She is one of the greatest athletes of India who has won several awards and medals for her country. Dipa’s life is an inspiration for all the youngsters in India. Her hard work and dedication to the game have proved that nothing is impossible. Karmakar’s life story and her journey are full of motivation for all of us.