Dipa Karmakar scripts history, becomes first Indian gymnast to win gold in Asian Senior C’ships

Tashkent: Top Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Sunday became the first from the country to win a gold medal in the Asian Senior Championships as she clinched the yellow metal in the women’s vault event here.

The 30-year-old Dipa secured an average of 13.566 in the vault final on the last day of competitions in Uzbekistan’s capital city.

North Koreans Kim Son Hyang (13.466) and Jo Kyong Byol (12.966) grabbed the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Dipa, who had finished fourth in the vault final at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had won a bronze medal in the same event in the 2015 edition.

Ashish Kumar had a won bronze medal in individual floor exercise in 2015 Asian Championships. Pranati Nayak had also bagged a bronze each in vault event in the 2019 and 2022 editions.

Dipa, who returned to action last year after a 21-month suspension for a doping offence, is out of contention for the upcoming Paris Olympics.