Dipa Karmakar became India's first gymnast to qualify for the Olympics Final after finishing eighth in the qualifying rounds. Dipa's achievement is huge, says a report in the www.firstpost.com, adding that Dipa landed her 'Produnova' perfectly enough to emerge among the top eight. She will now strive to make her 'vault of death' better on 14 August, hoping for a podium finish.
“The vault, named after Russian athlete Yelena Produnova, who tried it first in 1999, is so risky that only four other gymnasts have tried it since. When a gymnast tries this vault, she does a front spring with her hands, completes two somersaults in-flight and then tries to land on her feet. The manoeuvre is risky because the impact on the body while landing almost doubles due to the acceleration generated by the somersaults. So, a gymnast needs extremely strong legs to land on his or her feet. Also, the chances of landing on the back or the neck – if the flips are not completed – are high. And, if that happens, paralysis or instant death is a huge possibility. So risky is the Produnova that calls for banning it have been steadily rising,” explains the Firstpost report.
According to media reports, Deepa said after her qualification round that she was happy but wished she could have done a bit better. “In practice, I perform way better than this,” Dipa said.
Dipa secured 7.000 on difficulty and 8.1 on execution in her first attempt. Her score for difficulty was a tad lower at 6.000 in the second attempt. She landed low on her Produnova vault in the first attempt, while her second vault was a ‘Tsuk double full twist’ with step to the side.
Ahead of her event, Dipa received a big boost when she was wished luck by none other than three-time world champion Simone Biles of the US.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the 19-year-old star American, who has a record 10 World Championship gold medals in her kitty came up to the unassuming Tripura lass and wished her “luck” for she may have perfected the art of gymnastics but when it comes to ‘Produnova’ it’s terrifying.
“Simon Biles came up to me and wished me luck to do well in Produnova. She is like a star to me and difficult to think of standing beside her. I’m so overwhelmed,” Dipa said.
“It’s my first Olympics, feels great. There was lot of noise from the local Brazilian supporters. It was so much noise that I found it difficult to hear the music,” Dipa said. “If you have seen the Great Britain team, fourth and fifth and had to withdraw midway. But there’s no comparison of the test event to that of the atmosphere in the Olympics. The Olympic judging is very strict here. Those who usually get 16 are getting about 13. The scoring is tight. Vaulting is my main event,” she said.
