Dipa Karmakar Attempted Deadly ‘Produnova’ in Rio 2016’s Vault Competition
India's pride, Dipa Karmaker gave an astounding performance in Rio 2016's vault competition. This feat is made more amazing by the fact that she is the first Indian woman to compete in the Olympics' gymnastics competition.
India is gearing up towards the Olympics lately and this is a good start as they're making their presence known in the international sports field. On the other hand, even though that this is already a great achievement in itself, Dipa was described to be inconsolable at the end of the competition because she missed the gold by a 'mere' 0.15 point. In gymnastics, that point is significant because she finished in the fourth place. It just shows the necessity of a perfect, flawless execution in this field.
It was a shock to many, especially to Karmakar's opponent, gold medalist Simon Biles, that she attempted the extreme Produnova. The Produnova, the move named after the retired gymnast, Yelena Produnova, is also called the "vault of death". This sinister name is a result of the fact that the gymnast will be at a serious risk if this is not performed properly. It is 'simply' composed of "a front handspring off the vault table followed by roughly two and a half somersaults". However, this innocent definition hides the complexity of the move. It was said that even Biles, considered as the world's greatest in women's gymnastics, will never attempt it because according to her, she's not "trying to die", as reported by The New Yorker. This is not an exaggeration because Elena Mukhina, a Soviet Union gymnast, was left a quadriplegic after attempting the move.
The popularity gained by the move is not surprising because its founder, Produnova adamantly exclaimed that "I really want to come up with a routine that really reveals my character and my soul. I want people to recognize me right away and not be able to confuse me with anyone else!" This is legendary because the honor given to the name can surpass any Olympic gold.
Despite all of these, nothing stopped Dipa Karmakar from copying Yelena. She is determined than ever to get the first place. In closing, she gave this statement: "Now it's the easiest vault for me. I hope this vault becomes more famous than me in India. The vault is very dangerous. I say, 'Thank you, I like risk."
