Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar is set to make her comeback at the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships in Bhubaneswar next week, marking an eight-year gap since her last participation.
The prestigious event is scheduled to take place from January 2 to 4 and will feature other notable athletes including Tokyo Olympian Pranati Nayak, Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh Patra, Tapan Mohanty, Saif Tamboli, and Gaurav Kumar among others.
"Dipa will compete at the Senior nationals. The last time she had participated at the domestic event was in 2015. This will be here last nationals," her coach Bisweswar Nandi told PTI.
Despite being the first female gymnast from India to compete in the Olympics, the 30-year-old athlete from Agartala was ignored for the Asian Games. She topped the trials but didn't meet the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) selection criteria, which requires players to score equivalent to the eighth-ranked gymnast in the last Asian Games.
Subsequently, she was unable to participate in any event due to a 21-month suspension following a doping violation.
Despite this setback, her coach Bishweshwar Nandi remains optimistic about his protege's chances of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Dipa has been dealing with a persistent knee issue for an extended period.
"She is gradually reaching her 100 per cent and will compete in few international events next year. Of course, she will have to do well in the selection trials to be in the Indian team," Nandi said.
Odisha is prepared to host the Junior and Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships at the Gymnastics Centre in Kalinga Stadium.
The Junior Championship is scheduled to commence on December 28, with the Senior Championship following suit on January 2.
A total of 750 participants, including 550 players, 120 support staff, and 100 officials from various parts of the country, are anticipated to gather in the state for the championship. The event will involve the participation of 28 affiliated units from the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI).
The GFI President Sudhir Mital said, "We are pleased to host the Junior and Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship here in Bhubaneswar which has the best of infrastructure and facilities to conduct a National Championship. "This championship will give the entire junior and senior participants experience of showcasing their skills at world-class venue."
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