Bharat Rakshak

hanumadu wrote:India always does much better at the junior level in general across all sports. But some how, are unable to graduate to the senior level.

atamjeetsingh wrote:Vijender Singh won his first pro bout today with quiet ease knocking out opponent in 3rd round.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULHuXTXqXfk

swimming and cycling.

“Everyone knows me now as the “vaulter” and especially for my Produnova (her first vaulting jump, a Russian speciality with the world’s highest difficulty of 7.0). So I am happy that now whole world knows that Indians are also into gymnastics. Today in the stadium, when I came out, people were astounded that an Indian has qualified for finals. Even Romania hadn’t qualified. I think they were excited for me,” Dipa would say later.

Going eighth on the vault, Dipa would launch into her handspring and double somersault, and though the power wasn’t enough to get the desired elevation in the air, she would land low-chested and on her haunches without touching the floor. The difficulty of the Produnova lies as much in the aerial rotations as in the landing, so she would be scored 15.300 (of a maximum 17.000) — to match her score that clinched the Asian championship medal earlier.

On the subsequent second vault, the Tsukahara 720, Dipa would twist alright but lose her way stepping out of the lane and be docked points immediately – a 0.3 penalty that would yield a lowly 14.066 (Difficulty 6.0), for an average of 14.683 and a fifth position in the world. It was 0.983 points off the gold, and 0.858 short of the bronze medal.

The finishing finesse is utterly lacking in Karmakar’s jumps, and the trembling landings often leave first-time watchers doubting her prowess against girls who stick them landings clean and finish with a poised flourish. But the Indian is onto a very challenging path towards medalling at big events (choosing two of the toughest jumps), and perhaps how she started is more eye-popping than how she finishes the effort.

“There is no federation in India right now,” coach Bisweshwar Nandi says (“Federation ka koi astitva hi nahi hai”), a fact so staggering when juxtaposed against the highly sophisticated support systems for the rest of the finalists here, that India looks like one right oddball in the mix at Glasgow. The US, Great Britain, North Korea (with a great tradition in the sport) and Russia took the first four places. The famous fifth one is a country, rather notoriously, without a functioning national federation. “SAI helped set up the camp, so we could reach here,” the coach adds.

Since the time the federation erupted into factions, there is no governing body for the sport. When Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited his native north east and hopped across from Assam to Tripura, Dipa, her coach Nandi and father Dulal had met him and requested him to allow for a camp at Delhi. The Sports Authority of India would set up the camp after Dipa had gone 8 months without practice. She would learn the Tsukahara – in 3 months flat heading to the Worlds. “I spoke to all the coaches of the girls who finished 1, 2, 3 and 4. They’ve been doing their vaults for at least 3 years now. So Dipa’s effort wasn’t bad,” the coach would say.

The effort is right almighty on its own, though the tangibles are tough to state. There’s no medal and no direct qualification to the Olympics. “I’m hearing that even second reserves (Dipa is 26th on list; 24 make the cut) might be invited to the Test event in April at Rio. We’ll know in a month and half from the FIG (international body),” coach Nandi says.

“I am happy. But I really want to play at the Olympics,” Dipa says, her eagerness for the ultimate competition apparent in her tone. “I want to be in the Olympics because I am good enough. Even if it’s the 2020 Games,” says the 22-year-old. “I know if I’d done better on my second vault, I could’ve been 4th. I know I’m very close to being the best,” she repeats. “Maybe if I had more time on the Tsukahara, practicing more, I could’ve medalled,” she says, not too distraught at where she’s finished at her best-ever Worlds.