Dipa Karmakar tops Asian Games trials on return from ban

Dipa Karmakar said she is happy to have completed her 'big comeback' after topping the Artistic Gymnastics Selection Trials for Asian Games 2023 at the Gymnastics Centre, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

The top three gymnasts in the men's and women's individual all-around rankings after the two days of the trials were Yogeshwar Singh (Haryana), Rakesh Patra (Odisha) and Tapan Mohanty (Odisha) and Dipa Karmakar (Tripura), Pranati Das (Bengal) and Pranati Nayak (Bengal).

"I think this was a big comeback for me. The performance was OK, though not 100 per cent. But moving forward, I will do my best to give more than 100 per cent," Dipa Karmakar told PTI on Wednesday.

The Tripura gymnast, who narrowly missed out on a bronze in 2016 Rio Olympics, was making a comeback after 21 months of suspension due to a doping violation.

On Tuesday, the 29-year-old Dipa earned the maximum points to emerge on top in the all-around event.

"I am very happy that I could give the trials after the hardships I went through in the last few years," said Dipa.

"I was in Agartala doing training for 1 to 1-1/2 months. Now, if everything goes well, I hope I get selected for Asian Games... then I will try to give more than 100 per cent."