AGARTALA, June 16: Bishweshwar Nandi, a recipient of the prestigious Dronacharya award for outstanding contribution to gymnastics, is pinning hopes on Tripura’s gymnasts to shine on the global stage.
Nandi is also the coach of top gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who had finished fourth in the vault final at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“Tripura has great prospects in gymnastics… Six to seven girls are showing potential to perform well not even at the national level but also on the global stage. Gymnastics is a highly competitive, injury prone and technical game. Proper guidance from the coach is very important,” Nandi told PTI.
He lauded the state government for providing good facilities at the Netaji Subhash Regional Coaching Centre (NSRCC) here for development of gymnastics.
“During the rigorous training, boys and girls develop injuries, which is a major concern in this sport. The coach needs to walk the extra mile to ensure that the gymnasts remain physically fit,” Nandi said.
The award-winning coach said he is “in search of a second Dipa”, which would become a reality “when proper coaching and environment meet at one point”.
Asserting that Dipa shattered many myths surrounding Indian gymnastics, Nandi said gymnasts from Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and a few southern states are also performing well.
Dipa, hailing from Tripura, recently became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Senior Championships, after she clinched the yellow metal in the women’s vault event in Tashkent.
“As I said, providing proper guidance to budding gymnasts is the most important duty of coaches in order to make them perform well at global tournaments,” he said.
Talking to PTI, Dipa, 30, said there are no events lined up for her this year, as no gymnast from India could qualify for the Paris Olympics.
“There are no major events in 2024 and 2025 except the Olympics. Currently, I am trying to keep myself fit under the guidance of coach Bishweshwar Nandi,” she said. (PTI)
