Dipa Karmakar to make comeback at Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships

The event is scheduled to start on January 2nd.

India’s star gymnast Dipa Karmakar is set to return to the national stage after eight years, as she is scheduled to participate in the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships in Odisha next week.

The event, which will be held from January 2th to 4th at the Gymnastics Centre in the Kalinga Stadium, will also feature other prominent gymnasts such as Pranati Nayak, who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics, Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh Patra, Saif Tamboli, Gaurav Kumar and more.

Dipa, who made history by becoming the first Indian female gymnast to compete in the Olympics in 2016, where she finished fourth in the vault event, has been away from the domestic circuit since 2015. This will be her last nationals, according to her coach Bisweswar Nandi.

Dipa, who is 30 years old, had to miss the Asian Games in 2018, despite qualifying for the event, as she did not meet the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) criteria of scoring equivalent to the eighth-ranked gymnast in the previous Asian Games. She was also recently suspended for 21 months due to a doping violation, which hampered her career.

Meanwhile, Pranati Nayak has become the leader of Indian gymnastics in Dipa’s absence. She secured the eighth position in the women’s vault final at the Asian Games that ended recently.

Indian Sports Live Coverage on Khel Now

• Vinesh Phogat returns Khel Ratna, Arjuna awards
• Sumit Nagal’s wildcard nomination entry denied for Australian Open 2024 by AITA
• India to travel to Pakistan for Davis Cup tie after AITA loses appeal
• Bajrang Punia to return Padma Shri award as protest against WFI elections
• PV Sindhu in Forbes’ list for highest-paid female athletes in 2023
• Sakshi Malik quits wrestling after Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh becomes WFI president
• List of Indian athletes to have secured qualification for Paris Olympics 2024

Agartala Gymnasts’ chances of making it to the Paris Olympics in 2024 are hanging by a thread. Dipa, who has been recovering from a knee injury, will compete in some global events next year to earn a spot in the Indian team.

The Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships will be preceded by the Junior Championship, which will start on December 28th. A total of 550 gymnasts from across the country will showcase their skills and talents in the national event.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram