Vivekananda Byamagar
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Photo: Nilesh Bhattacharya,
School for champions
Where it all began for Dipa, By Nilesh Bhattacharya, Aug 22 2016 : The Times of India
Budding Gymnasts Still Train With Makeshift Apparatus At Vivekananda Byamagar
A group of 50-60 kids, all barely 5-6 years old, line up for a routine on mats, placed on uneven grass. `Go', the instructor shouts, and they roll over on their spine.Some fail, others fall, but they all return to upright position to repeat the routine.
Inside the gymnasium, the routines on bars, rings and mats are more demanding and intense as the trainers keep a close watch. It looks ruthless and dangerous, given that the children have to perform mostly on makeshift apparatus. But no one's complaining. In fact, the Vivekananda Byamagar is a picture of no-nonsense seriousness.
“When Dipa Karmakar came to this place as a five-year-old in 1998, the condition of this club was even more disorganized and dangerous. During monsoon season, the floor would be flooded at times, yet they had to continue training,“ recalled Soma Nandi, the gymnastics coach attached with SAI who oversees training at the club.
It was at this very Vivekananda Byamagar, situated in downtown Agartala, where Dipa's journey began. She may have wowed the world and carved a niche in Indian sport with her magical Produnova vaults in Rio, but the cradle of India's first female Olympian gymnast is crying for modern amenities even today . Children aspiring to be the next Dipa still perform vaults on a rough-and-ready arrangement where mats are placed on each other and tied by a rope.A proper springboard and vaulting table are conspicuous by their absence.
“Dipa's struggle and determination had its roots here and she learnt to take risks at a very early stage,“ Soma said during a chat with TOI on Sunday .
Dulal Karmakar, himself a wrestler who represented Tripura in several national meets, wanted Dipa to grow up into a sportsperson soon after her daughter was born on August 9, 1993. “I had the same dream with my elder daughter, Puja, who is six years her senior. But she studied in an English medium school where the focus on studies is much more. Dipa's birth gave me a second chance. She was a lively child and to transform her hyperactivity into productivity, I took her to Soma, who was working with me at SAI at that time,“ Dulal recalled.
Dipa's determination caught Soma's eye.“Even at a tender age, she used to keep performing a routine till she perfected it,“ Soma remembered.
The gymnastics coach had no second thoughts about selecting her when Agartala hosted the North-East Games in 2002. It was an Open meet and Dipa surprised everyone by beating far more senior and experienced competitors to the gold medal in balance beam.
At 9, Dipa was handed over to Bishwesh war Nandi -Soma's husband and an accomplished gymnast in his youth -at the Netaji Subhas Regional Coaching Centre.
Dipa's transition to the big league was not without hurdles. When Nandi sent her for an entry test at the SAI, doctors found her flatfooted, putting a big question mark over her dream of becoming a gymnast. But Nandi pleaded with the SAI authorities to admit her as a trainee. A series of exercises followed, which ultimately enabled her to run on toes again. “Nandi's arrival in Dipa's life was a gift from God,“ said Dulal.
Dulal, a weightlifting coach at SAI, was transferred to Port Blair in 2007 for four years when Dipa began making waves in Indian gymnastics.
“As a weightlifter, I had won many medals but could not represent India. I told Dipa that it's my dream to see her represent India at the international stage. When she made the cut for the Commonwealth championships in 2009, she called me up in Port Blair and told me: `Baba, I'm sitting on the Londonbound flight from Delhi now. I'm going to represent India.' It was like a dream come true for me too,“ he said excitedly .
A year later, Dulal got a chance to meet his daughter in New Delhi when Dipa got selected for the Indian team in the Commonwealth Games. Dulal was there as a coach of India's weightlifting team. “She cried after failing to win anything. I told her that there's a second chance for every sportsperson,“ he said.
“She didn't win a medal at this Olympics.Hopefully, my little Guddu will get a second chance in Tokyo in 2020,“ Dulal signed off.
CHANCE MEETING
Agartala: Dipa Karmakar may be the toast of the nation now. But all this may not have been possible had it not been for a chance meeting with then-Union sports minister Sarbanand Sonowal.
Thanks to factionalism in the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI), Dipa didn't get permission to train at the SAI Centre in New Delhi. When Sonowal, now Assam chief minister, visited Tripura in May last year, Dipa bumped into him at the Agartala airport.
On hearing about her plight, Sonowal asked Dipa to visit Delhi and arranged a meeting with the SAI director-general, which paved the way for her SAI training.
“She had barely five months to practise and qualify for the Olympics. But we don't know what would have happened if she hadn't met the minister at the airport,“ revealed Dipa's father Dulal.
