Dipa Karmakar’s is the story of extraordinary ambition and the pursuit of excellence in sport. Don’t sell it short by wrapping it in a celebration of her merely as India’s first-ever woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. This 22-year-old from Tripura isn’t just attempting to be the first from her country to achieve gymnastics’ ultimate glory — a medal at the Olympics. The magnificence lies in the clarity of her goal-setting: Karmakar isn’t content being India’s best, and rarest. She aspires to be the best in the world at the vault, a sporting specialty where the traditional powerhouses — the US, Russia, China and Romania — are just the beginning of the shortlist of contenders. Then there is also the rest of the world, before an Indian fetches up.
However, it would be silly to believe that something dramatically changed in India’s sporting ecosystem for her to emerge. Karmakar’s achievement is down to her individual enterprise, unshaken belief in herself, and dogged persistence. Sure, the Sports Authority of India chipped in with equipment at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Delhi, and even in Tripura, which boasts decent infrastructure for gymnastics, a much beloved sport in that corner of the country. But it was all down to her, her family, and her coach, who always found a way around difficulties. The system fell in place because Karmakar was focused.
Ten years down the line from Sania Mirza’s phenomenal showing in singles, there’s no successor in sight. Saina Nehwal has P.V. Sindhu following, but not too many jostling to take her place. M.C. Mary Kom even had a movie made on her, but boxing’s wings are vacant. Likewise, it’ll be ambitious to start thinking Karmakar’s feat will lead to a gymnastics revolution in the country, with little girls cartwheeling away to medals. This was one girl’s guts, one girl’s glory alone.