Tripura has great prospects in gymnastics: Indian gymnast Bishweshwar Nandi

Indian gymnast and recipient of the prestigious Dronacharya award, Bishweshwar Nandi has said that Tripura has great prospects in gymnastics. 

Praising the state government for providing good facilities at the Netaji Subhash Regional Coaching Centre (NSRCC) for development of gymnastics, Nandi told news agency PTI, “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.”

“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,” he further added.

It may be mentioned that Nandi is also the coach of top gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who had finished fourth in the vault final at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He stated that he is “in search of a second Dipa”, which would become a reality “when proper coaching and environment meet at one point”.
Furthermore, he also appreciated gymnasts from Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and a few southern states stating that they are performing well.

Dipa, hailing from Tripura, became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Senior Championships. She also 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.

Meanwhile, Dipa told reporters that there are no major events for her in line as no gymnast from India could qualify for the Paris Olympics.