Dipa Karmakar will be in action in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games vault final on Sunday evening. Russian gymnast Yelena Produnova was only 19-years old when she tried the very unsafe double somersault manoeuvre on the vault at the World University Games, also known as the Universiade; an event for university level athletes from across the world.
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In April at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Washington, only Canada’s Shallon Olsen competed in the vault final of the eight gymnasts here, with Olsen taking home the gold. Paseka came here to Rio struggling with some back issues and has looked slightly inconsistent on her vault, receiving only the fourth highest score in qualifications with a 15.049, while Jong scored a 15.683.
Ahead of the much-awaited individual vault finals, Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar said that she will give her best efforts in the finals.
With only a day remaining for the big final, the Karmakar household in Agartala has been buzzing with excitement. Dipa’s father Dulal Karmakar says the family is tensed and like the rest of the country, is praying for a medal. The 22-year-old qualified for the final round in the individual vault final of artistic gymnastics after finishing eighth in the standings.
“Dipa’s coach has a huge contribution in what she has achieved”.
When asked about her performance at trailer launch of upcoming Bollywood flick Freaky Ali, he said, “I thought.was it Deepika?”
North Korean Un-Jong and Uzbek Chusovitana are both former Olympic gold medallists, while Russia’s Paseka won World and European titles a year ago.
In Sunday’s final, Dipa Karmakar will be up against a star-studded line-up.
The gymnast from Tripura, famous for the scary Produnova vault, has already beaten the odds by making it to the finals.
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If either Jong or Paseka falter, another potential medal victor is Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber who also poses the Amanar and Cheng, and 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina, who could perform the insanely hard Produnova vault. If she manages to upset the applecart and clinch a medal in Sunday’s final, Dipa Karmakar’s place in the history books will be guaranteed.
