Rio 2016: Nursery that trained Dipa Karmakar has poor equipment

AGARTALA: A group of 50-60 kids, all barely 5-6 years old, line up for a routine on mats, placed on uneven grass. 'Go', the instructor shouts, and they roll over on their spine. Some fail, others fall, but they all return to the upright position to repeat the routine.
Inside the gymnasium, the routines on bars, rings and mats are more demanding and intense as the trainers keep a close watch.It looks ruthless and dangerous, given that the children have to perform mostly on makeshift apparatus. But no one's complaining. In fact, the Vivekananda Byamagar is a picture of no-nonsense seriousness.
"When Dipa Karmakar came to this place as a five-year-old in 1998, the condition of this club was even more disorganized and dangerous. During monsoon season, the floor would be flooded at times, yet they had to continue training," recalled Soma Nandi, the gymnastics coach with SAI.
It was at this very Vivekananda Byamagar, situated in downtown Agartala, where Dipa's journey began. She may have wowed the world and carved a niche in Indian sport with her magical Produnova vaults in Rio, but the cradle of India's first female Olympian gymnast is crying for modern amenities even today.
Children aspiring to be the next Dipa still perform vaults on a rough-and-ready arrangement where mats are placed on each other and tied by a rope. A proper springboard and vaulting table are conspicuous by their absence. "Dipa's struggle and determination had its roots here and she learnt to take risks at a very early stage," Soma said during a chat with TOI.
Dulal Karmakar, himself a wrestler who represented Tripura in several national meets, wanted Dipa to grow up into a sportsperson soon after her daughter was born on August 9, 1993. "I had the same dream with my elder daughter, Puja, who is six years her senior. But she studied in an English medium school where the focus on studies is much more. Dipa's birth gave me a second chance. I took her to Soma, who was working with me at SAI at that time," Dulal recalled.
Dipa's determination caught Soma's eye. "Even at a tender age, she used to keep performing a routine till she perfected it," Soma remembered.
The gymnastics coach had no second thoughts about selecting her when Agartala hosted the North-East Games in 2002. It was an Open meet and Dipa surprised everyone by beating far more senior and experienced competitors to win the gold medal in balance beam.
At 9, Dipa was handed over to Bishweshwar Nandi -Soma's husband and an accomplished gymnast in his youth -at the Netaji Subhas Regional Coaching Centre. When Nandi sent her for an entry test at the SAI, doctors found her flat-footed, putting a big question mark over her dream of becoming a gymnast. But Nandi pleaded with the SAI authorities to admit her as a trainee. A series of exercises enabled her to run on toes again.