The Indian woman gymnast Dipa Karmakar is staying on cloud nine. On Monday, Dipa made history by becoming the first ever woman Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. Now, hours after sealing a berth in the Rio Olympics 2016, Dipa won a gold medal in the vault competition.
The 22-year old youngster from Tripura scored 14.833 to secure the first position in the test event for the Rio Games. Dipa scored 14.566 in her second attempt, but her first try was enough to earn her a gold.
The officials stated that this was the first time that an Indian woman has won gold in a global gymnastic competition.
"No Indian has ever won a gold at a global event earlier and Dipa's gold is the first time this is happening. She has qualified for the Olympics and then has won a gold now. It is fantastic stuff," Deepak Kagra an international referee was quoted as saying by PTI.
Dipa also became the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics after a long wait of 52 years. Before this, 11 Indian gymnasts have been a part of the Olympics, but this is the first time that an Indian woman will also feature in the competition. The Tripura girl has been listed as the 79th gymnast in the list of participants who have qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016.
The International Federation of Gymnastics confirmed Dipa's qualification for the Rio Games on Monday, via a press release.
"Following the Women's Qualification Competition at the Gymnastics Test Event in Rio, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) herewith confirms the list of nations and individual gymnasts that have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games," the governing body said in its release.
