Asian Gymnastics C'ships: Dipa Karmakar falls short of Paris Olympics qualification

Ace Indian gymnast, Dipa Karmakar, has failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, finishing in a mere 16th rank in the all-around discipline at the final Paris quota event, the Asian Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.

The Rio Olympian had a very difficult last couple of years due to severe injury concerns and a few doping charges. She made a comeback to the sport last year but wasn't able to find her best form and lost this final opportunity to secure an Olympics quota.

She scored a total of 46.166 points in the all-around category and finished in 16th position. Emma Malabuyo of the Philippines won the single quota spot available at this event with a total of 50.398 points, finishing in third position.

Most of Dipa's points came from her best category, the vault, where she scored 13.400 points, while she only managed 11.300 in the floor exercise routine. However, poor scores in the uneven bars (10.666) and balance beam (10.800) ended her chances of qualification.

With this, India will have no gymnast at the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, having had at least one participant in the past two editions. Dipa Karmakar came very close to a medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, finishing 4th in the vault final.

The individual apparatus finals and junior qualification rounds will take place from May 25th to 28th at these Asian Championships.