India’s Olympian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has made history with her outstanding performance at the Asian Championships. Karmakar secured the gold medal in the women’s vault event, becoming the first Indian gymnast to achieve this remarkable feat.
Dipa Karmakar, who represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, delivered a stellar performance to claim the gold medal in the women’s vault event at the Asian Championships. This victory marks a historic milestone as it is the first time an Indian gymnast has won a gold medal in this prestigious competition. Karmakar, 30, achieved an impressive average score of 12.566 in the vault finals on the final day of the event. North Korea’s Kim Son Hyang and Jo Kyeong Byol took home the silver and bronze medals with scores of 13.466 and 12.966, respectively.
In 2016, Karmakar narrowly missed the podium at the Rio Olympics, finishing fourth in the vault final. She had previously won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2015 edition of the Asian Championships. Ashish Kumar also secured an individual bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Championships, while Pranati Nayak earned bronze medals in the vault event in both the 2019 and 2022 editions.
After serving a 21-month suspension for a doping violation, Karmakar made a triumphant return to competition last year. Despite this recent success, she is currently not in contention for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, her gold medal at the Asian Championships stands as a testament to her resilience and skill in gymnastics.