Dipa Karmakar becomes first Indian to clinch gold at Asian Gymnastics Championships

Dipa Karmakar took gold with an average score of 13.566 at Tashkent.

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Asian Gymnastics Championships on Sunday. Karmakar, 30, took gold in the vault final in Tashkent with an average score of 13.566 across her two vaults.

North Korea’s Kim Son Hyang won silver with 13.466, while her compatriot Jo Kyong Byol scored 12.966 for bronze. This was Karmakar’s first Asian Championships gold after winning vault bronze in 2015.

Also read: India’s Dipa Karmakar fails to secure Olympic quota at Asian Gymnastics Championships 2024

This victory also marks Karmakar’s greatest career achievement, surpassing her bronze medals won in the vault event at the 2015 Asian Championships in Hiroshima and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It also provided some redemption after her fourth-place vault final finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Pranati Nayak has also taken a medal at the Asian Gymnastic Championships, winning back-to-back bronze medals in vault in 2019 in Ulaanbaatar and 2022 in Vault Individual final.

Ashish Kumar is the only male and one of the three gymnasts to have won a medal at the Asian championships, The Gymnast won a bronze in Individual floor exercise in Surat in 2006.

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However, Dipa Karmakar’s dream of competing at the Paris Olympics 2024 was dashed on Friday at the Asian Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent. The 30-year-old Indian gymnast finished a disappointing 16th in the all-around final with 46.166 points, well below the Olympic qualification mark.

The lone Paris quota spot from the continental event went to Emma Malabuyo of the Philippines, who took third overall with 50.398 points. Karmakar came up short despite a determined effort in her final attempt to book an Olympic berth.

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