Dipa Karmakar (born 9 August 1993) is a former Indian artistic gymnast from Tripura. In 2016 she became the first Indian woman gymnast to compete at the Olympic Games, where she finished fourth in the vault final in Rio, missing a medal by 0.15 points. She is one of only a handful of women to have landed the Produnova, a handspring double front somersault so risky that it is nicknamed the “vault of death”. She retired in October 2024.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Dipa Karmakar |
| Born | 9 August 1993, Agartala, Tripura, India |
| Age | 33 |
| Sport | Artistic gymnastics |
| Event | Vault |
| Coach | Bishweshwar Nandi |
| Father | Dulal Karmakar (weightlifting coach) |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (2015), Khel Ratna (2016), Padma Shri (2017) |
| Known for | Produnova vault; fourth at Rio 2016 |
Early Life
Karmakar was born in Agartala, where her father was a weightlifting coach with the Sports Authority of India. She began gymnastics at six. She had flat feet, a serious handicap for a gymnast because it affects the spring in a jump, and developed an arch through years of training. From the start she was coached by Bishweshwar Nandi, with equipment that at times was improvised from old scooter parts and worn mats.
Career
At Glasgow she won bronze in the vault, the first Indian woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal in gymnastics. She won bronze at the Asian Championships in 2015 and finished fifth at that year’s World Championships.
She qualified for the Olympics at a test event in Rio in April 2016, the first Indian gymnast at the Games in 52 years. In the vault final on 14 August 2016 she landed the Produnova and scored an average of 15.066, finishing behind Simone Biles of the United States, Maria Paseka of Russia and Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland.
Knee surgery kept her out for nearly two years. She came back to win gold at a World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey, in 2018. She served a 21-month suspension, which ended in July 2023, after testing positive for a banned substance that she said she had taken unknowingly. In May 2024 she won the vault at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, the first Indian to win gold there.
She announced her retirement on 7 October 2024, saying her body could no longer take the strain, and plans to coach.
Legacy
Karmakar’s fourth place in Rio made gymnastics widely followed in India for the first time and inspired younger gymnasts such as Pranati Nayak. Her coach received the Dronacharya Award.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Dipa Karmakar born?
Dipa Karmakar was born on 9 August 1993 in Agartala, Tripura, India and is 33 years old.
What is Dipa Karmakar known for?
Known for: Produnova vault; fourth at Rio 2016.
What honours has Dipa Karmakar received?
Arjuna Award (2015), Khel Ratna (2016), Padma Shri (2017).
Featured image: Dipa Karmakar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before receiving the Khel Ratna, New Delhi, 28 August 2016. Photo by Prime Minister’s Office, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
