Olympian Dipa Karmakar is felicitated by SJFI in Bhubaneswar on Sept 16, 2016.

Tripura gymnastic sensation Dipa Karmakar justified her role as the biggest attraction of the ongoing 39th National Convention of Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI) in Bhubaneswar by enthralling the audience with the heart-touching story of her journey from Vivekananda Byamagar in Agartala to Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro today.

The Orchid Hall of Hotel Mayfair Lagoon reverberated with applause as a petite Dipa, who missed the Olympic bronze medal by a whisker, narrated her experience as a gymnast on the third day of the SJFI Convention. “Initially I didn’t know what gymnastics was all about and was not interested in the sport. Because of my flat foot I was also not suited for this discipline. But my father, who is a SAI weightlifting coach, insisted me to take to gymnastics,’’ recalled Dipa.

Giving all credit of her success to coach Bisheswar Nandi, Dipa said: “My coach is my god. His guidance and inspiration helped me rise to the world standards. He took all tension and burden and made a lost sacrifice to shape up my career.’’

’’The seven days in between qualifiers and the final of the vault event at Rio was like seven years for me. I was gripped by tension. But Nandi sir assured me that I would finish among the top eight, which is not bad. His words reduced the tension and enabled me make my best effort in the final,’’ reminisced Dipa, who finished fourth.

Rewards may be flowing for Dipa now. But the initial years of her career was full of struggle. “I started my journey from Vivekananda Byamagar, which did not have the basic infrastructure facility. In rainy days the floor was flooding with water and rats were roaming all over the place. But I carried on honing my skill there without any complain,’’ said Dipa, who realized that she had the talent and ability to pursue the sport seriously only after winning three gold and two silver medals in the 2007 National championship.

She started working hard and was rewarded with the bronze in the 2014 Glasgow CWG and another one at the 2015 Asian Championship at Hiroshima. The two medals did her confidence a world of good. “I started believing in my abilities and felt that I could compete with the best in the world. I then started training on the Produnova vault. I must have done it more than 1000 times in the build-up to the Rio Olympics,’’ she recalled.

Coach Bisheswar Nandi described Dipa as a stubborn and angry girl. “She will never stop training until she is fully satisfied. Many a time I had to stop her from over-doing, because I know the moment she does it her tantrums will follow,’’ narrated Nandi, who is also a five-time national champion.

Nandi felt Odisha has the potential to produce world class gymnasts, but needs proper facilities and guidance to achieve the desired results. “Odisha had many talented gymnasts when I was pursuing my career as a competitor. But now a days, the state is not doing well. I don’t know the reason,’’ said Nandi.

He, however, believed that eminent Odia gymnastic coach Ashok Mishra could help the state revive its standard. “Ashok Mishra is a very good coach. Lack of opportunities forced him to leave the state and work at SAI Centre, Kolkata. Odisha government should bring him back. I am sure, local gymnasts will be tremendously benefited under his guidance,’’ said Nandi, while drawing the attention of State Sports and youth Services Minister Sudam Marndi, who was present there as a guest.

Meanwhile, rain continued to play spoil sport in the J K Bose Trophy T20 Cricket Tournament as the league match between East and West zones getting abandoned without completion of one innings. South Zone rode on a 49-ball century by A Krishna to trounce North Zone by 137 runs in another match of the day.

CRICKET RESULTS:
Match No 3 (KIIT Stadium): East Zone 86/6 (Rakesh Dubey 24*, Fazal Ali 23) vs West Zone match abandoned due to rain.
Match No 4 (IDCO Ground): South Zone 177 (A Krishna 49-ball century, Roshan Thyagarajan 49) beat North Zone 40/7 (Shashank Kishore 2 wkts) by 137 runs.