Sachin Tendulkar launches gymnast Dipa Karmakar's biography
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar launched a book on gymnast Dipa Karmakar at an event in Mumbai. Karmakar's book titled 'Dipa Karmakar - The Small Wonder', talks about her journey and struggles till date. Tendulkar went on to praise the Indian athlete, who is now preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualification. Here's more about the book.
The book has some vital inputs from Dipa's coach Bishweshwar Nandi. It revolves around the life of Dipa and chronicles her journey from Agartala to a world-famous gymnast. Karmakar had finished fourth in the Rio Olympics 2016.
Tendulkar was in awe of Karmakar and heaped praise on her by saying that she has motivated thousands of youngsters. "She has not only left an impression, but also motivated thousands of youngsters to go out and do something special for our country and that is what matters," said the former Indian batting maestro.
In November 2018, Karmakar claimed a bronze medal in the vault event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Cottbus in Germany. The 25-year-old star had gone on to score 14.316 to secure a bronze medal. The event was part of the eight-event qualifying system for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Karmakar said that she is gearing up for the Olympic Qualification event.
"I will be competing in Olympic qualification event in March. Now the criteria for getting qualification has changed drastically. This criteria is very tough for the countries like us, who are not developed much in gymnastics. But I am preparing well," said Karmakar.
Karmakar rose to prominence after becoming the first Indian gymnast to compete at the Rio Olympics. She had suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury after the event and had to undergo a surgery. On her return, she clinched the gold medal in the vault event of the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Turkey. Dipa became the first Indian gold-medalist at the Challenge Cup.
Dipa was born on August 9 1993 in Agartala, Tripura. She started training for gymnastics when she was six years old and has been coached by Bishweshwar Nandi since then. In 2007, she won the Junior Nationals in Jalpaiguri. Despite having a flat feet, she stood tall to achieve so much. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the Khel Ratna award.
