Ace gymnast Dipa Karmakar is on the path of attaining full fitness and hopes to give her best in the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in August.
Dipa, who became the first Indian woman gymnast to claim a medal in the Commonwealth Games four years ago, had to undergo a surgery following an anterior crucial ligament tear in her knee last year and could not recover in time for the Gold Coast Games starting early next month.
The 24-year-old from Agartala, who hogged the limelight after securing the fourth place in women’s vault in the 2016 Rio Olympics, said she was focused on getting completely fit before showing off her novel skills in the Asiad.
READ: Dipa Karmakar ruled out of Commonwealth Games 2018
“At the moment, I do not want to reveal it (my new techniques), but I am giving my best for the Asian Games. I will still take two months to be fully fit,” Dipa told reporters here on Saturday.
Dipa’s coach, Bishweswar Nandi, threw more light on the elite gymnast’s progress. “The rehab is over and she is training well. She is doing the basic vaults – first trying to get stable before attempting the risky Produnova.
“We did not want to aggravate her injury, so (we are) taking it slowly. Dipa has added some more styles to her repertoire but she will continue to perform Produnova,” he said.
“We have drawn up a chart for her in the build-up to the Asian Games and (are) looking forward to a four-week stint in Moscow in May. The Asian Games will be tougher than the Commonwealth Games. It is as good as competing in the Olympics,” he added.
On their way to Agartala for a two-week break, Dipa and Nandi were here to attend an event where they were named brand ambassadors of the Bengal Baseball Association.
Talking about India’s prospects in gymnastics in Gold Coast, Nandi said, “Pranati Nayak should do well in vault, I see her finish within third and fifth. Pranati Das can make the final in the beam. Aruna Reddy's bronze medal in the recent World Cup in Melbourne has also given a ray of hope,” said Nandi.
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