Though celebrated Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar missed her Olympic medal this year, she won hearts of Indians for her perseverance in creating history.
She had lost bronze medal by only 0.15 points. But she was well rewarded. Along with the medal winners PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, she too was gifted a BMW by Sachin Tendulkar (originally owned by his close friend and Hyderabad Badminton Association chief V Chamundeswaranath).
Owing to non-feasibility of the car in the poor roads of Agartala, Dipa has decided to return the car to its initial order.
Dipa didn’t comment on the situation but her coach Bisheswar Nandi is quoted in the report:
“It wasn’t Dipa’s decision. Rather it was a collective decision taken by her family and me. There are two main reasons behind it. First, there is no BMW service center in Agartala and secondly, the roads are not suitable to drive a posh car such as this. We have spoken to the concerned authority and gladly, they have no problems with it. It was also suggested to them that if possible, they transfer the amount equivalent to the value of the car to Dipa’s bank account. And if not, we will be happy with whatever amount they decide.”
The gymnast is currently focusing on the Challengers Cup. But she would turn eligible for entry only if she is the part of a team. Considering her delay in resuming training, it is speculated that it would be rather difficult to gain entry into Challengers Cup for Dipa.
