For Deepa Karmakar, 2024 has been a year of redemption so far. The gymnast won the national all-around title in her return on Friday, marking her first successful outing after a few injury-plagued years. However, the Indian is not finished yet and has already set her target of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
For Karmakar, after winning the national championship, she will shift her focus to the upcoming Asian Championships and World Cup in a bid to book a place in Paris.
“It’s just the beginning of the year and I want to compete in the Asian Championships and World Cup and see if I can qualify for Paris,” she told Hindustan Times.
One of the most important things that Deepa Karmakar and her coach learned from the national championships was that she was able to complete her routine comfortably, something that had not been possible for a while.
“I’m happy that I was able to perform the routines without difficulty. Even reaching this level was very difficult after two (knee) surgeries. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do such routines again. I put in a lot. I worked hard with my coach.” So I can start competing again.”
Next, the gymnast is focused on increasing the difficulty of her routine to win a medal on the international stage.
“I will only be able to judge myself better after competing at international level. I have to increase the level of difficulty in my routine and that will be my goal in training for the next few months.
Deepa Karmakar medal in the national championships
For Deepa Karmakar, this was her first time competing in the National Championships in eight years, and her performance was definitely worth the wait.
The Rio Olympian rose to the top of the podium in the all-around event, with a score of 49.55. She was joined in the medal-winning positions by her compatriots Pranati Nayak and Swastika Ganguly, who scored 47.00 and 45.30 respectively.
Apart from the all-around, Karmakar also won medals on vault and uneven bars, clinching silver in both. She was beaten by Pranati Nayak on vault, while Pranati Das clinched the gold on the uneven bars.