Hero-gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who placed fourth in the Rio Olympics, arrived in Agartala this morning
Highlights
- Gymnast Dipa Karmakar recieved a grand welcome in Agartala
- When she saw her sister, she jumped off her jeep and hugged her
- She said girls should be supported and encouraged to take up sports
Dipa Karmakar has a point to make. Stand by your girls, and see what they can do for you, she told a crowd of nearly 5,000 packed into a stadium in her home town of Agartala to welcome the young gymnast home from the Rio Olympics.
"
Beti bachao, beti padao aur beti ko khilao," she said, urging the country to save, feed and educate the girl child.
Ms Karmakar, 21, missed winning a medal in the vault final by just 0.15 points. But her stellar performance in gymnastics, an area India has consistently ignored, makes her a champion. Along with medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, who won silver for badminton and bronze for wrestling, Ms Karmakar gave India something to cheer about at the Olympics.
She embarked on her dream over a decade ago with coach Bishweshwar Nandi. They had no funding, no equipment and no guidance. All they had was a determination to succeed and a brainwave to build makeshift apparatus from a pile of crash mats and discarded parts of a second-hand scooter.
Today, she was everyone's hero in Agartala. On the 12-kilometre route that she covered in an open jeep from the airport to the ceremony where she was honoured, Ms Karmakar spotted her older sister and jumped out of the jeep with the ease of, well, a world-class gymnast, to embrace her. "I can't explain how it feels. It is amazing to see so many people on the street waiting to wish me. I thank each and every one of them," said Ms Karmakar from her jeep to NDTV.
Ranjit Das, who lives in the same neighbourhood as Ms Karmakar, told NDTV, "Tripura residents are extremely proud of her for putting this tiny state in one far corner of India on the international map. She is an inspiration for all the children gathered on the streets today."