Dipa wins gold at Olympic test event

 

Rio de Janeiro, April 19  Having created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar added another feather to her cap by winning gold in the women's vaults finals at the Olympic test event here.

The Tripura girl thus became the first Indian woman gymnast to win gold in a world gymnastics event. The 22-year-old scored 14.833 points in her first attempt which was enough to secure the top spot. Dipa scored 14.566 in her second and last tries, respectively.

However, Dipa's gold medal winning feat in the women's vaults event has nothing to do with her Olympic qualification in the artistic event, which is an all-round competition.

Dipa had qualified for the Olympics when she finished ninth in the first of the four subdivisions of the women's artistic category. She had missed out on an Olympic berth during the World Championships in November where she was fifth as she was not able to garner a podium finish.

The 22-year-old already created history by winning bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Since independence, a total of 11 Indian male gymnasts have taken part in the Olympics. Of these, two had qualified for the Helsinki Games in 1952, three featured in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and six competed at the 1964edition in Tokyo. 

But the Rio Olympics will be the first time that an Indian woman gymnast will feature at the 'greatest show on earth'.