Injury-ravaged Dipa Karmakar pins hopes on postponed Tokyo Olympics

The postponement of Tokyo Olympics has come as a ray of hope for injury-ravaged Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who is preparing for another shot at qualification after a niggling knee problem hampered her earlier bid to make the cut.

Karmakar, who finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has been struggling with injuries ever since she underwent a surgery to treat an Anterior Cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2017. ACL is a key ligament that stabilises the knee joints.

Her comeback in 2018 was short-lived as the knee troubled her again at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku last year. She was forced to withdraw from the Doha World Cup as well and failed to recover in time for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in October, 2019.