Bouyed by Rio success, Dipa Karmakar’s coach aims to form Indian gymnastics team

When Dipa Karmakar started her sprint towards the springboard in the Olympic final, a million eyes followed her every move. There weren’t too many who knew how the points were scored or an athlete conceded the penalties, but no one wanted to miss the moment.

Behind the scenes yet next to the centre stage, a helpless man could only hope. He had done his bit; it was for his student to execute it in the best manner possible.

Dipa Karmakar, India’s first woman gymnast and the only since 1964, gave her best shot as she performed the Tsukahara and Produnova but fell short by 0.15 on an aggregate to help India bag its first medal in the discipline. Dipa came fourth; probably the worst place to finish after 4 years of hard work. The 23-year-old was undeterred though, vowing to aim for the gold in Tokyo shortly after her event.

“Initially, the focus will be on the strength and conditioning aspect. We will sit together and decide the tournaments to play. We may go on a stint overseas, or bring a foreign choreographer,” Bisheshwar Nandi, the man behind Dipa’s successes over the years, said. “It’s my aim to have an Indian gymnastics team for Tokyo. I’m already working with young, emerging and talented gymnasts like Asmita Pal and Aruna Reddy to get them ready for the global stage.”

Nandi, who represented India in the 1982 Asian Games, brushed off allegations that the existing infrastructure acted as a deterrent. “We didn’t have any problems with the infrastructure. The Sports Authority of India had imported state of the art equipment for Dipa,” he said. “There is a new centre for excellence coming up in Agartala as well, which will have a foam pit. This will be fantastic for gymnasts as they’ll be able to practice vaults fearlessly, without having to improvise by stacking mats on top of each other; the way we had to do for Dipa early on.”

The five-time national champion lauded efforts put up by the Sports Authority of India. “The investment from SAI to just import equipment has been over 80 lakhs. Apart from this, they gave us access to nutritionists, physios, psychologists, masseurs; truly a mini-army of support staff,” he said. “The investment in Dipa’s preparation could be estimated at over 2 crore over the last few years. While this amount may seem wholesome, a one-size-fits-all approach may not be the answer. Ultimately, it is the utilisation of the amount that counts. Athletes’ needs differ widely based on their sports.”

“Gymnastics has never been taken seriously in India, except for certain pockets in the country. Dipa’s consistent successes at international events meant she got more support from different ranks. Hopefully, she will be the first of many others who make it to the Olympics,” he added.

“The government needs to continue investing in the sporting ecosystem and build the right infrastructure. Also, it’s great to see private organisations providing a helping hand to several athletes,” he said. “Dipa is lucky as her apparel and a few travel requirements are undertaken by GoSports Foundation. There are athletes who can’t make it big as they lack the much required financial backing.”

The accomplished coach, however, stated that Dipa was yet to reach her prime. “There is always scope for improvement. We can work to push up Dipa’s vault scores even more. There is a lot of hard work to be done and we really hope to improve and do much better in the next set of competitions,” he said.

“The Produnova and the Tsukahara are two vaults around which Dipa has built her strength and prowess. We will work further on these so as to improve her scores, and also look to add more vaults to her repertoire. I was extremely pleased with Dipa’s performance in the vault, but her floor exercises require some choreography. Her act on the uneven bars also needs to be extensively worked on.”

The duo received a rousing welcome back home. While Dipa was conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country’s highest sporting honour, Nandi was handed the Dronacharya award by President Pranab Mukherjee earlier this week. “I feel good. I worked hard without expecting anything. It is great to get the recognition that should inspire coaches across sporting disciplines,” he said.

Dipa, too, heaped praise on Nandi: “I am extremely grateful that he has been honoured with the Dronacharya award. I wouldn’t have been the gymnast I am had it not been for him. He has been my guiding light right from the beginning and always believed in my potential,” she said. “Right from helping me correct my flat feet and providing the vision for my training, he has been the reason and the most important factor behind all my achievements. He has been nothing short of a god-like figure for me.”