Rio 2016: For Karmakar, 'death vault' may just be a routine affair

Dipa Karmakar's face is a blank canvas. Only the defiant tilt of her chin before she explodes on to the carpet gives you a hint of what is to come - the supremely daring vault, the 'Produnova', so extreme in difficulty that it flirts with danger, even death. Dipa nails it, vaulting into the final. A historic feat.
Dipa, 23, propelled into the air by wrists of steel, somersaulting twice in a seemingly endless motion, became the first Indian gymnast ever to make an Olympic final and only the fifth woman since Russian Yelena Produnova in 1999 to land the 'death vault'.
The final, scheduled on Sunday, promises a pre-Independence Day celebration for a country starved of sporting success. A vault that will be treasured as a medal. However, the applause, if only temporarily, veils the community's call to ban the Produnova because of the risk involved. The international gymnastics federation is seriously looking at reworking the scoring system in a bid to discourage women from attempting the routine that promises huge reward but is dangerous.
So why do athletes undertake such death-defying acts as the Produnova? Why do they race on the edge, swerving between life and death?

Sports psychologists. however, say athletes don't view it as a risk - rather they look at it as a challenge, an obstacle they must clear. Sports and performance psychologist Dr Shree Advani explained, "Often they are aware of the danger, death or an injury that could leave them paralysed for life, but every athlete believes it's not going to happen to them. They go in with belief. If they actually see the risk involved, it could become a mental block."
Dipa, who has received great support from her parents - Dulal and Gauri - made her foray into gymnastics with assembled equipment. "Parents," Advani says, are often the ones who need more counselling, given the choices they make. "Firstly sporting parents are different because putting a child into sport is a risk in itself in India. Then when they pursue a career that is seen as dangerous, one that could leave the child crippled, it becomes doubly difficult."
The Bangalore-based Advani pointed out that an athlete is in the business because he or she is passionate about the discipline. "They gain a great sense of fulfilment. So it's not going to be easy to dissuade them from going for difficult routines. In Dipa's case it is the Produnova. If she believes, she believes and a change in the rules isn't going to stop her."
Arjun Maini, the 18-year-old Formula One hope who is currently racing in GP3, says about his sport, "Perhaps there is a slight risk involved, but that's not something you contemplate."