Pranati Nayak pips Dipa Karmakar at FIG World Challenge Cup

Fresh after being snubbed from India's Asian Games contingent, Dipa Karmakar failed to make it to the final of the FIG World Challenge Cup in Szombathely, Hungary, on Friday, even as two other Indian gymnasts - Pranati Nayak and Rakesh Patra - qualified for the finals.

On Friday, Dipa finished ninth in the qualification rounds of the women's vault and failed to make it. India's sole gymnast at the Asian Games, set to begin on September 23, Pranati, finished fifth in the qualification round and made it to the eight-woman vault final. She performed Tsukahara straight full twist 360 and Forward Handspring salto 360.

In the men's events, Rakesh Patra made it into the Rings Finals.

Dipa and Rakesh had topped the women's and men's trials held to select the Asian Games contingent in July this year, but none of them made it due to the Union sports ministry's selection criterion. It was Pranati who was selected as the lone gymnast based on her performance at the Asian Championships held in Singapore in June.

"The performance of the sportspersons should not be less than the performance achieved by the eighth position holder of the 2018 Asian Games” in the 12 months preceding the event, said the criterion of the ministry. While Dipa did not meet this crietrion, neither did Pranati, but it was Pranati who was selected because she had the best scores among all Indian women gymnasts in the 2022-23 period.

Almost proving the decision right, Pranati has pipped the legendary Dipa Karmakar at an international meet two weeks before the Asian Games.