GUWAHATI: She is just 15 years old and is quietly learning the nuances of a niche and complex sport like gymnastics. Little by little, she is picking up the differences between learning difficult vaulting skills and translating them into impressive performances.
Priyanka Dasgupta sat giggling among her peers in one corner of the gymnastics hall here at the Khelo India Youth Games. Though not on billboards yet, she is a well-known figure in her state Tripura, of late. Among her cravings is a wish to emulate her didi — Dipa Karmakar — and be as famous as her if not more. And the admiration and excitement every mention of her didi evokes in her during our conversation is indescribable. From lending tips to costumes, Dipa didi has something to do with a lot of her life.
“Dipa didi is like a friend to me,” she says fondly. “She gives me a lot of tips, tells me that if you do like this, you will get more points. She even lends me her costume during competitions.”Coming from the same cradle as Dipa in Agartala, sky-high expectations from the overall gymnastics champion in the U-17 girls’ section here is understandable.
As the weak winter sun peers through the blue sky, she stepped out of the gymnastics hall to speak about her travails in both sport and life. Dipa’s coach Bisweswar Nandi trains her now (over last four years or so) but he is not here.
Instead, Soma, her first trainer and other coaches from Tripura are here. Coming from a humble background, Priyanka took to the sport as a four-year-old when her mother Bhabani took her to the Vivekananda Byamagar in Agartala. “She is a big motivation behind my game,” says Priyanka. She, however, doesn’t forget to talk about her father, who is a private bus driver, either. “Both of them inspired me to take up the sport and both motivate me.”
“I participated in four events and I won three gold and then the overall crown,” recalls the girl who can’t stop smiling. “I can’t stop laughing. Sometimes my friends think that I was born with laughing gas.” Her favourites are beam and vault. The Produnova, made famous by her coach Bisweswar and his ward Dipa, is not in her gymnastics lexicon as yet. “I have not learnt that and I keep my vault exercises simple,” she says.
The Class X student has just finished her tests and considers herself a good student. However, there is no ambiguity about her passion. “I am a good student and just now in my Class X tests, I have fared quite well,” she says. “I practice for three hours in the morning and three-and-a-half hours in the evening,” says Priyanka. “There is pressure, especially when there are exams. My test exams just got over and the results are good. Let’s see what happens when the boards come. But my parents never put pressure on me. They never tell me to study or play. Even in my game, they don’t interfere.”
Priyanka also talks about her stint at the national camp. She was at the junior national camp in 2017 and 2018 in New Delhi. “I was part of the camp along with the seniors and suddenly I realised I was the youngest one. I enjoyed the camp. Dipa didi and coach (Nandi) were also there so it felt nice and everyone liked me and used to call me ‘choti’.”
“My target is to win international medals and go to Olympics like Dipa didi. It’s a dream, let’s see what happens! My coach tells me to work hard and that everything will be possible if I do that. Olympics khelna hai (I want to participate in Olympics),” Priyanka says with a childish grin.
“Maybe in 2024!”
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