Modi lauds Indian gymnast for India's first gold in world event in Turkey

NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes on July 9 for woman gymnast Dipa Karmakar who bagged India’s first ever gold medal in a global gymnastic event in Turkey.

Karmakar, who participated in her first international competition since narrowly missing an Olympic medal in 2016, won the women’s vault at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in the southern Turkish province of Mersin on July 8.

The 24-year-old had recovered from a career-threatening knee injury suffered last year as her average score of 14.150 edged out Indonesia’s Rifda Irfanaluthfi (13.400).

“More than the gold, what was important for me was to perform at the optimum level. I am happy I could do that considering the fact at the beginning of the year, I was hobbling back to fitness,” Karmakar was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

“Getting back into top gear makes me believe that my knee has healed completely and I should now be able to go all out at the Asian Games,” she added.

The Asian Games take place in Indonesia from August 18 to Sept. 2.

Modi took to Twitter to congratulate the Indian athlete who missed the Commonwealth Games in Australia this year due to her injury.

“India is proud of @DipaKarmakar!... This win is a prime example of her tenacity and never-say-die attitude,” said Modi.

Sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, an Indian politician and a former professional shooter who won silver in the 2004 Olympics, also praised the champion gymnast.

“#DipaKarmakar is the stuff champions are made of! After battling an injury for the past 2 yrs, she makes a heroic comeback by clinching her first in the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Turkey! Many Congratulations to her for making proud!,” Rathore wrote on Twitter.

Karmakar though is still some distance away from the dangerous “Produnova Vault” that got her bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Named after Russian gymnast Yelena Produnova, the “Vault of Death” as it is nicknamed was first introduced in 1999, but is so dangerous some want it banned.

It involves a handspring double-front somersault, and has one of the highest degrees of difficulty rating a seven, but only a handful of gymnasts have attempted it in competition.