Dipa wants to return BMW presented by Tendulkar

TIL Desk Sports/ Expressing her inability to maintain a luxury car in Agartala, celebrated Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar requested that she should instead be given a cash prize equivalent to the vehicle’s cost even as the body which offered her the gift promised to ‘look’ into the matter.

Karmakar, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, produced a memorable performance at the big event in Rio finishing fourth in the vault event.

A BMW car was gifted to her by the Hyderabad District Badminton Association president V Chamundeswaranath in appreciation of her performance, the keys of which was presented to her by India’s cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar at a felicitation ceremony at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad on August 28 where she was honoured alongside Olympic silver-medallist shuttler P V Sindhu and bronze-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik.

However, Dipa says she wants to return the gift as roads in Agartala are too narrow for a BMW and also the city does not have a single BMW showroom or service centre. The 23-year-old’s coach Bisheswar Nandi was quoted as saying that he has requested an “amount equivalent to the value of the car” should be transferred to Dipa’s account.