Gymnast Dipa Karmakar will get busy with MA examination

Agartala, Aug 19 (IANS) Gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who finished fourth in the Olympics final at Rio, will take her MA examination next week under Tripura University, her father said here on Friday.

"Dipa, accompanied by her coach Bisheshwar Nandi, would arrive in New Delhi from Rio on Saturday morning. They are likely to reach Agartala on Monday," Dipa's father Dulal Karmakar told IANS.

"After returning to Agartala, Dipa would start preparing for the MA examination in political science. She is pursuing the course in distance education mode," he added.

Dulal said after the MA examination Dipa would start preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 23-year-old Tripura girl, who had become first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, scored 15.066 points, a mere 0.150 less than eventual bronze winner Giulia Steingruber (15.216) of Switzerland in the final event.

Dipa finished fourth in the final of the women's vault event, missing out on what would have been India's first Olympic medal in gymnastics.

Her effort in the final included the risky Produnova vault which has earned her widespread acclaim.

Several organisations in Tripura are likely to facilitate Dipa, who works as a sports officer in the Tripura government.