Dipa Karmakar’s Produnova: India’s best sporting performance of the decade

‘Dipa, will you perform the Produnova?

The question was posed to Dipa Karmakar (the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for Olympics) by her coach Bishweshwar Nandi before the Common Wealth Games (CWG) to which she replied -

‘Yes, Sir. I am willing to even jump from the second floor of a building to win.’

While reading her biography (Dipa Karmakar – A small wonder), I stop for a while to open YouTube on my phone to watch the video of Rio 2016 when she performed the deadly Produnova vault. I had a distinct memory of the picture in which the young Indian gymnast was reaching out to embrace her emphatic coach after a superlative performance.

The action begins with an elegant and graceful looking Dipa Karmakar approach the podium. She is cool under pressure which speaks volumes about the mindset and temperament of a young Indian in her mid-twenties.

Having narrowly missed a podium finish in CWG 2010, she won a bronze at the CWG 2014 performing Produnova but her hand had inadvertently touched the ground – a miniscule error. The decision to perform this act yet again in 2016 had precipitated from such performances as she thought she could do much better.

Though CWG 2014 resulted in a medal, she wasn’t satisfied with just Bronze.

Watching the focused and determined girl, I think of a few women of her age in my knowledge who after finishing an MBA from a reputed institute have settled in a job earning multiple figure salaries which make me wonder -

Why did Dipa become a gymnast? Did she ever calculate the opportunity cost?

I continue watching her in awe.

After reaching her mark, she takes a deep breath and focusses across a distance of 25m towards the launch apparatus while a question rushes to fill my mind -

Is she thinking at all about the gap in preparation between her and other competitors?

I had read something about how she trained which had unsettled me.

To perform the Produnova in training, Dipa had to use springboards made from parts of a two-wheeler, crash mats piled on top of one another had become her vaulting platform and seats from old and used cars had become her landing zone.

With a rush of adrenalin, she burst forth giving a glimpse of the high voltage energy stored in her legs. The pick-up is fascinating and makes me think how many times she’d repeated this act in training, running towards the vault to propel herself in the air and perform two and a half somersaults on broken training kits on a regular basis.

Watching the video, my mind goes into a whirl as I watch her fly and the jaw drops watching her complete two and a half somersaults in impossible time. She lands wonderfully well - a perfect climax.

To put things in perspective, I research on Produnova to realize that the most notable thing in performing this vault is the level of difficulty. On previous occasions, two other women gymnasts had attempted it at the highest level but had landed on their backs. I can’t even imagine what injuries that may have led to. The point is also emphasized by the fact that only four women athletes have successfully performed it in Olympics before Dipa attempted it.

This dangerous act was performed for the very first time by a Russian athlete Yelena Produnova, hence the name.

An athlete who successfully completes the act is awarded a highest grading of 7. The Produnova had a higher grading earlier but it was brought down to discourage the athletes from attempting it. The act is so difficult that multiple Olympic medal winner American Simon Biles had refrained from performing it fearing serious consequences.

Until the scores flashed on the screen, the script had largely been the way Dipa may have imagined. The result however was not in her favor as she tantalizingly missed standing on the podium after being placed fourth.

Seeking inspiration from a wonderful act of personal bravery, I ponder on Dipa’s performance and think of two important questions –

Why did she choose to become a gymnast?

The only answer I could think of was that a gymnast performs solo and doesn’t really have to rely on anyone else to control her performance. Most athletes love the subtleties of competing with self every day.

And the second question - Why did she perform the Produnova when she knew it was so dangerous?

The answer is obvious.

Dipa attempted Produnova to shatter the thinking of stereotypes like you and me who act unsighted to the beauty of the sport she indulges in. I think we already are aware of the condition in which our athletes’ train but we need stark reminders so that we sit up and take notice. With this performance Dipa tried giving us just that…a stark reminder.

I know of many friends who may travel to Lords to watch Indian team play a cricket match but only notice an athlete like Dipa Karmakar when she performs a death-defying Produnova or rises above adversity to win a medal for our country.

Last week when I asked my friends, which was India’s biggest sporting performance of the past decade, few of them distinctly emphasized on the Cricket World Cup win in 2011. Some suggested it was Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the IAAF World Championships in 2016. A few others said it has to be Mary Kom winning the sixth World Championship in 2018. Some voted for PV Sindhu’s gold effort in the BWF World Championship in 2019.

All the above were good performances for our country but I think Dipa Karmakar’s fourth finish in Rio while performing Produnova was our best performance and separates her from the rest. She didn’t win a medal that day at Rio but definitely proved to be the golden girl of our country.

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