Dipa Karmakar Retirement: India’s first lady gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Monday announced the end of her competitive gymnastics career, bringing to a close an illustrious career replete with firsts in India. The closest she came to a medal for India was at the Rio Olympics 2016 in the vault where she finished fourth. She is one of only five women around the world who could successfully land the Produnova vault.
A very emotional statement from Karmakar: “After much thinking and introspection, I have decided to retire from competitive gymnastics. This is not an easy decision but does feel like the right time. Gymnastics has been at the center of my life for as long as I can remember, and I am grateful for every moment—the highs, the lows, and everything in between.”
It was at 31 that Karmakar made history as the first female gymnast to represent India in the Olympics since 1964. Here, she only missed the bronzes by a whopping 0.15 points as Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber reclaimed third with 15.216 while she won 15.066.
Karmakar wasn’t without her struggles. Following a doping violation that brought her a 21-month suspension, she is back in competitive gymnastics this past year and has just won the biggest victory in her career so far she won gold at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, in 2024. What she says about this comeback is, “My last victory at the Asian Championships was a turning point.”.
Until then, Karmakar said she felt she was able to push her body, but sometimes the body will remind you that you need to rest. Even though she’s retiring from competition, Karmakar said that she wants to keep involved with the sport. “I want to give back to gymnastics—whether as a mentor or a coach or by helping young girls,” she said.
Karmakar took a trip down memory lane in a heartbreaking social media post after somebody had spoken to her and said that flat feet would never make her a gymnast. “Today I feel proud of all that I have achieved. It has been the most special moment of my career to represent India on the world stage, win medals, and perform the Produnova vault at the Rio Olympics,” she said.
The legacy of gymnastics athletes, particularly in Dipa Karmakar, will inspire generations of athletes – especially young girls taking to gymnastics and aspiring to break boundaries in sport.
