Dipa Karmakar became the talk of the town after her performance at the Rio Olympics 2016. The Indian gymnast, along with PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik was presented a BMW car by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. However, due to the difficulties in maintenance, Dipa is all set to return the luxury car to its original owner, the president of the Hyderabad Badminton Association (HBA), V Chamundeswaranath.
The Times of India reports that the prime reason behind the move seems to be the difficulty Dipa and her family is having maintaining such a posh car in a city like Agartala, where the roads are narrow and not well-maintained. Moreover, since Dipa’s next assignment, the Challengers’ Cup in Germany is a month away; Dipa has been advised not to bear the maintenance cost and rather devote her time towards practicing.
Dipa’s coach, who spoke on her behalf in her absence said that it wasn’t just her decision a collective one by her family and him. “It wasn’t Dipa’s decision. Rather it was a collective decision taken by her family and me,” Coach Bisheswar Nandi told TOI Sports. “There are two main reasons behind it. First, there is no BMW service center in Agartala and secondly, the roads are not suitable to drive a posh car such as this.”
“We have spoken to the concerned authority and gladly, they have no problems with it. It was also suggested to them that if possible, they transfer the amount equivalent to the value of the car to Dipa’s bank account. And if not, we will be happy with whatever amount they decide,” the coach added.
While, the lack of a service centres and narrow roads in Agartala may have forced Dipa to take this step, the main reason behind her decision appear to be her training for the Challengers Cup. The Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) apparently has stated to Nandi that Dipa can travel to Germany, the venue for the competition, only if the Indian camp can put together a six member team.
