Dipa Karmakar Etches History by Clinching Gold at Asian Gymnastics Championships

The Indian gymnast, Dipa Karmakar, has scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian to secure a gold medal in any Asian Championships. Hailing from Tripura, Dipa achieved this remarkable feat in the women’s vault individual final at the Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2024, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 26, 2024.

Dipa displayed an exceptional performance, scoring an average of 13.566 points to claim the coveted gold medal. The silver and bronze medals were bagged by Kim Son-hyang and Jo Kyong-byol, respectively, both representing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), with scores of 13.466 and 12.966 points.

Despite her commendable achievement, Dipa narrowly missed securing a quota for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, as she finished 16th in the all-round category.

Indian Medallists at Asian Championships

• 2006, Surat – Ashish Kumar, bronze medal in the individual floor exercise final
• 2015, Hiroshima – Dipa Karmakar, bronze in vault individual final
• 2019, Ulaanbaatar – Pranati Nayak, bronze in the vault individual final
• 2022, Doha – Pranati Nayak won bronze in the vault individual final
• 2024, Tashkent – Dipa Karmakar, gold in vault individual final

About Dipa Karmakar

• Dipa Karmakar, standing at just 4 feet 11 inches tall, hails from Tripura and is one of India’s most renowned and inspiring women gymnasts.
• She claimed her first international medal, a bronze, at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
• Dipa made history as the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Summer Olympics, participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she finished fourth in the vault event.
• In 2018, she became the first Indian ever to win a gold medal at a global gymnastics event, triumphing at the FIG World Cup in Mersin, Turkiye.
• Additionally, Dipa secured a bronze medal at the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany.

Awards and Recognition

• Dipa Karmakar was bestowed with India’s highest sports honor, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award), in 2016.
• She was conferred with India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2017, in recognition of her outstanding achievements.