Rio Olympics 2016: Dipa Karmakar becomes first Indian woman gymnast to book a berth, makes India proud

In what can be called a historic moment, Dipa Karmakar becomes the first Indian woman ever to qualify for the Olympics in gymnastics, making it a proud moment for the entire nation. 22-year-old Karmakar is a gymnast from Tripura. Dipa has been listed as the 79th gymnast among other female qualifiers. After scoring 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games Dipa created history.

Not only this, Dipa will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the quadrennial extravaganza after 52 long years. Earlier Dipa has also won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

This year can be seen as a stepping stone when women it comes to attaining gender parity, at least in sports field. Since Independence only 11 Indian male gymnasts have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964). So this will be the very first for an Indian woman in Olympics.

In its official release,  The International Federation of Gymnastics (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique) has confirmed Dipa's qualification in Rio Games.

“Following the Women's Qualification Competition at the Gymnastics Test Event in Rio, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) herewith confirms the list of nations and individual gymnasts that have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,” the world body said in its release.