Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar could not return home with a medal from Rio Olympics, but she won the hearts of the nation with her fourth-place finish. She missed the bronze by a whisker, and is gradually becoming one of the best in performing the risky Pradunova, which many refer as 'Vault of Death'.
There are some risks associated with it, hence many top gymnasts have not tried it in major events, but Dipa does not consider it to be difficult. The Pradunova Vault, which consists of front handspring and two front somersaults, has a difficulty rating of 7.0. However, it was this vault, which helped Dipa become well-known amongst the top gymnasts as well.
"I will continue doing the Produnova, not thinking of any other vault at the moment. I don't think it's a death vault, if we practice, everything becomes easy, my coach made me practice," PTI quoted Dipa as saying.
"I became famous for my vault in the Olympics. Some called me 'Produnova Girl,' others called me 'Dipa Produnova.' A lot of people were cheering for me in the finals. I felt I made the right decision by choosing this vault."
During the finals, she performed the vault, which helped her accumulate 15.266, and Dipa could have scored much more, had her landing been perfect.
The vault final was watched with huge interest in India, though her finals started late night (IST). Prior to her appearance in Rio Olympics, the sport was not well-known, and Dipa is proud that Indians have come to know about gymnastics because of her, which is a huge achievement in a country where cricket rules the roost.
"My life is still the same, I am still a gymnast, I still want to win a medal. But yes, I feel nice that because of me people got to know about gymnastics in India," Dipa said.
This might be her maiden Olympics appearance, but she will improve in the next few years to become a major medal contender in Tokyo 2020.
