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When shooters and athletes were submitting elaborate plans to the Sports Ministry for training abroad, young Dipa Karmakar and her coach Bisheshwar Nandi were content to train at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium.
And when, one by one, the high profile shooters fell by the wayside, Dipa produced a startling made-in-India performance to bring cheer to the Indian camp. The only luxury Dipa enjoyed was a Spieth equipment set installed in Tripura.
But for the personal intervention of Ram Niwas, a former national gymnastics champion and Project Officer in the Sports Authority of India, even this would not have reached Dipa. Ram Niwas ensured that left-over equipment from the Delhi Commonwealth Games, rotting in SAI Stores at Nehru Stadium, was made available to Dipa in Tripura.
First a hug and then an affectionate kiss by the coach to Dipa summed up the brightest story coming from the Indian camp in Rio.
On reminding her that her fourth spot in the Olympics had equated her with the likes of Milkha Singh and PT Usha, the shy girl blushed. The steely demeanour that tackled the most difficult vault in contemporary gymnastics mellowed.
Sir, they are great athletes. I am a small fry. I will just try to give off my best.Dipa Karmakar
Perhaps Dipa doesn’t know she has another feature in common with legendary Milkha Singh – the flat foot. Like Milkha, she was also discouraged from taking up sports because of this biological fact. But while Milkha burnt the cinder track, Dipa churned the synthetic runway with the same elan.
The biggest compliment to the Indian gymnastics queen came from the gold medal winner – Simone Biles. “Only a crazy person can do Produnova,” said the American super star as she gave Dipa an admiring look.
Even when she was performing at a somewhat packed stadium in Rio, an American photographer standing next to me was wondering whether Dipa was actually capable of competing in the Olympics, the highest arena of International sport.
“Do they play gymnastics in India?” he asked me before Dipa’s turn came. And as she charged the runway and planted her hands on the pommel horse for a near-perfect vault, the American photographer missed the shot as he wasn’t paying attention. Later he apologised and ran for Dipa’s prized shot!
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Sports Authority of India perhaps did not take Dipa and Nandi seriously. While the masseurs, assistants and hangers-on were given a free ride to accompany some of the non-performers, Dipa didn’t even have the bare essentials. There was a moment when it appeared that a particular gymnast from Uzbekistan was given marks too liberally, there was no one to lodge a protest for India.
In the recent past, Dipa had become a kind of celebrity with media waiting for her sound bites. But it has still not sunk in as to what she has done. She had no clue that the entire nation was hooked to their TV sets to watch her event live at midnight.
As she retires in the Games Village, the enormity of her feat will dawn on her. God forbid, if the contingent of 121 returns home empty-handed, she will have the consolation of at least coming home having won thousands of hearts in Brazil and in India. After all, didn’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi say before the team’s departure to Brazil, “dil jeet kar aao” – go win hearts!
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)