New Delhi: Forced to dump the dangerous Produnova routine following a career-threatening knee injury, ace Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar said Tuesday she will once again switch to the ‘vault of death’ after the Asian Games. It was this vault that had helped Dipa gain worldwide recognition at the 2016 Rio Games.
However, since then an injury followed by surgery had kept Dipa out of action. Returning to action at the World Challenge Cup in Turkey, July 8, Dipa opted for ‘Handspring 360’ and ‘Tsukuhara 720’ routines en route to her gold medal winning feat. She scripted history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to clinch a gold medal at a global event.
But Dipa said she will not give up Produnova. “I will do it but it will take time. I have spent a lot of time in mastering this but after injury it was difficult. Difficulty level in Produnova has been reduced to 6.4 from seven, in fact average scores in difficulties are being reduced but I’ll be back doing Produnova. I will not give it up,” Dipa told this agency.
Her mentor and coach Bisheshwar Nandi said there is not much time to try Produnova at the upcoming Asian Games but he is hopeful that Dipa will be able to perform it by the year end.
There was never any doubt in mind about my comeback. However, at times, I did feel fear. Because in two years the body changes a lot
Dipa Karmakar
“I will try for Produnova by the end of this year because sometimes she feels pain in her knee even now. It is a complicated sport and it is natural but she will overcome that,” he informed.
Dipa scored 14.15 to clinch the gold medal in Turkey but said she will need to score higher to win a medal at the Asian Games.
“Asian Games is very tough with competitors from China, Japan and Korea. I can’t guarantee a medal. But I will give my best. I realised where I lacked during the World Cup. I will work on those areas. In Asian Games I will have to score more, may be 14.2 or 14.3 will give me a chance to win a medal,” she pointed out.
Nandi said Dipa will look to increase the difficulty level ahead of the Asian Games. “The gold has given her a lot of confidence and there is a month’s time, so we will try to increase the difficulty level now. She will have to go for a score of 14.5 to win a medal. It will be a big ask,” Nandi asserted.