CHENNAI: The two-and-a-half somersaults before landing – it may sound easy but on the vault it could be dangerous. Considered one of the most difficult routines in gymnastics, the Produnova could be fatal if not clinically executed. For Dipa Karmakar, this form defines her. So much has this become integral to her gymnastic routine, that she slowly earned the moniker, Produnova Girl.

Dipa reached the zenith at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She became the talking point. For a gymnast hailing from a remote corner in India (Agartala in Tripura) where gymnastics is not even in their collective consciousness, this was a remarkable journey. Even the great Simon Biles acknowledged. “She is special. I wouldn’t have tried to do that (the Produnova). It’s insane,” she had said after winning another of her medal in vault on August 14, 2016, during the Olympics.

The scores were a testament to Dipa’s prodigious talent, almost freakish. Biles’ two jumps fetched her 15.900 and 16.033, for an average of 15.966. Maria Paseka of Russia was second with 15.253 and Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber third with 15.216. Dipa was 0.15 points behind the Swiss. Dipa was the first Indian to be at the Olympics and first in the final and the only one to finish fourth until now.

Life had not been very easy for Dipa in the last ‘five years’. She had struggled. The years were peppered with two surgeries, a doping suspension and despite being the No 1 gymnast was not considered for the Asian Games. Yet it was not until she won gold at the nationals that she wanted to say goodbye to a sport she loved.