After concluding the two-day Asian Games selection trials on Wednesday at the Kalinga Stadium, the selection committee chose five men and four women, including the star gymnast Dipa Karmakar, for the Indian team.
On the second day of the competition, Dipa Karmakar, who had been out for 21 months because of doping, took part in raising her individual apparatus scores for the Asian Games trials. She improved her performance on the beam, where she had struggled on Tuesday, and completed Tsukahara 360-degree front and back in the vault, her main event.
Dipa said,
“I have given my best and am looking forward to getting better from here”
Bishweshwar Nandi, Dipa’s coach, expressed his pleasure with his ward’s performance.
He said,
“The main focus is (to protect her from) injuries. She will do her main vaults, 540 front and 720 back, in the Asian Games”
While competing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Satyajit Mondal did well before severely twisting his left leg while landing in his second vault and requiring medical treatment. He was selected for individual apparatus. If he is able to get healthy in time, Mondal will take part in the Asian Games. Mondal’s backup athlete is Anas Ali Shaikh.
The squad did not include the seasoned gymnast Ashish Kumar, despite him finishing third in the floor exercise with a score of 12.90.
Selected Gymnasts For Asian Games:
- Men
Yogeshwar Singh (all-around, first, 76.30; floor, second, 13.00), Rakesh Patra (all-around, second, 76.20; rings, first, 13.50; parallel bars, third, 13.20), Tapan Mohanty (all-around, third, 74.60; rings, second 12.75), Gaurav Kumar (floor, first, 13.05; parallel bars, first, 13.60), Satyajit Mondal (vault, first, 13.88);
Reserves: Anas Ali Shaikh (vault, second, 13.58, reserve to Mondal), Saif Tamboli (parallel bars, second, 13.25; pommel horse, first, 12.85).
- Women
Dipa Karmakar (all-around, first, 47.05; floor, first, 12.05; vault, second, 12.33), Pranati Das (all-around, second, 45.80; beam, second, 11.35; floor, second, 11.85), Pranati Nayak (all-around, third, 44.43; vault, first, 12.73), Protistha Samanta (vault, third, 12.20);
Reserve: Bidisha Gayen (all-around, fourth, 41.05)
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