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‘Fourth place is no less than a medal’
CHANDIGARH: Gymnast Dipa Karmakar missed bronze by just 0.150 points in the individual vault event at the Rio Olympics on Sunday, but looking at the facilities the
CHANDIGARH: Gymnast Dipa Karmakar missed bronze by just 0.150 points in the individual vault event at the Rio Olympics on Sunday, but looking at the facilities the country offers its gymnasts, finishing fourth is an achievement and Dipa’s historic performance has made the country proud of her.
“Dipa has created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to make the finals of the Olympics, and finishing fourth is not a small achievement, especially when there are hardly any facilities for the sport in the country. Her performance is commendable, and the way she performed in the finals I am confident she will win a medal in the next Olympics (at Tokyo in 2020),” said the legendary Milkha Singh, who also missed bronze by a whisker at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
“I know what it feels like (the pain) to miss a medal by such a small margin. I couldn’t sleep for two days after the event as whenever I closed my eyes the 400m final race came live in front of me. So, Dipa must be going through a tough time. We should all support her and provide her the best of facilities so that the next time she makes it to the podium,” he added.
Talking about the level of gymnastics at the global arena, Milkha said, “Gymnastics is a competitive sport and over the years the world level has gone up. To excel in this sport, we need sophisticated equipment; otherwise it can be fatal too. So in the current scenario, Dipa’s fourth position is no less than a medal.”
