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Dipa Karmakar Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth9 August 1993

Age31 Years

BirthplaceAgartala, Tripura

ProfessionArtistic Gymnast

NationalityIndian

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyFather: Dulal Karmakar; Mother: Gita Karmakar; Sister: Puja Karmakar

Dipa Karmakar Biography

Dipa Karmakar is an Indian artistic gymnast from Agartala, Tripura, known for historic international achievements including a Commonwealth Games bronze in

Early life and background

Dipa Karmakar was born on 9 August 1993 in Agartala, Tripura. She grew up in that city, attended Abhoynagar Nazrul Smriti Vidyalaya for school and later studied at the Women’s College, Agartala. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and an MA in Political Science. Her father, Dulal Karmakar, worked as a weightlifting coach at SAI and her mother is Gita Karmakar. Dipa has a sister named Puja Karmakar.

Dipa took up gymnastics at a young age, training from around six years old at the Vivekananda Byamagar in Tripura. Her early coaches included Soma Nandi and, most notably, Bisweshwar Nandi, who has been her long-time mentor. Despite having flat feet when she began, she developed the spring and skills needed to compete at national and international levels.

Career

Dipa rose through India’s domestic gymnastics ranks, winning the junior national title in 2008. Her first major multi-sport exposure came at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi as part of the Indian contingent. At the 2011 National Games of India representing Tripura, she won the all-around and golds across the four apparatus events: floor, vault, balance beam and uneven bars.

Her breakthrough on the wider international stage came at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she won a bronze medal on vault. That performance also placed her among the very few women in the world to land the highly difficult Produnova vault. Later that year she finished fourth in the vault final at the 2014 Asian Games and secured a bronze at the Asian Championships in Hiroshima.

In October 2015 Dipa became the first Indian gymnast to reach a final at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She qualified through the 2016 Olympic Test Event and went on to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Indian female gymnast to compete at the Olympics. At Rio she reached the vault final and finished fourth with a score of 15.066.

After Rio, Dipa continued to compete internationally. In 2017 she underwent corrective surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury that affected her availability for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In July 2018 she made history again by winning gold in the vault at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey — the first time an Indian gymnast had taken gold at a global FIG event. She later struggled with another knee injury and missed the vault final at the 2018 Asian Games.

In May 2024 Dipa won the gold medal in the women’s vault apparatus at the Asian Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, becoming the first Indian to secure that title. She announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics in October 2024, citing health issues stemming from sports injuries, and expressed a wish to mentor or coach aspiring gymnasts.

Public profile

Dipa’s achievements have been recognized with several of India’s top sporting honors: the Arjuna Award in 2015, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2016, and the Padma Shri in 2017. The same year she received an honorary D.Litt. from the National Institute of Technology, Agartala, and was named among Forbes Asia’s list of super achievers under 30. In January 2017 a special postal cover was unveiled in her honor. Her autobiography, The Small Wonder, was launched in January 2019.

Beyond competition, Dipa has been a visible role model for girls in Tripura and across India. She was selected as a Barbie Role Model for the brand’s 60th anniversary initiative and has been involved in community inspiration efforts in her home state. She is known to be religious, often observing Mahavir and Durga pujas at home, and lists Nadia Comăneci as a role model. Among her personal interests are cooking, listening to music and watching films.

Latest updates

In 2023 Dipa received a 21-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, a ruling that disqualified her results from 11 October 2021 onward. She returned to competitive form to claim the 2024 Asian Championships vault gold in Tashkent before announcing her retirement in October 2024. On retirement she shared an emotional note with fans and indicated plans to support the next generation of gymnasts as a mentor or coach.
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Recent Work

Asian Gymnastics Championships

Gold medal in women's vault apparatus in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

2024
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Career Highlights

  1. Bronze medalist on vault at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
  2. First Indian female gymnast to compete at the Olympic Games (Rio 2016); finished fourth in vault final
  3. First Indian gymnast to win gold at a FIG global event (2018 World Challenge Cup, Mersin)
  4. Gold medal in women's vault at the 2024 Asian Gymnastics Championships
  5. Recipient of Arjuna Award (2015), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2016) and Padma Shri (2017)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Dipa Karmakar born?

9 August 1993

What is Dipa Karmakar known for?

Artistic Gymnast

What is Dipa Karmakar’s marital status?

Unmarried