'I could not have performed without your support': Dipa Karmakar tells fans

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Fresh from her memorable feat in the Rio Olympics, Indian trailblazing gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Saturday expressed gratitude to her fans and well-wishers, saying she could not have performed well without their support. Dipa's fourth place finish in the individual vault final at the Olympics is India's best performance in an international competition. "My experience was good in Olympics. And I want to express my deepest gratitude to those who prayed for me because I could not have performed well without their support," Dipa told ANI. Meanwhile, Bishweshwar Nandi, Dipa's coach, said that she performed exceedingly well in the prestigious quadrennial event. "We practiced very well and the SAI felicitated well. She did what I taught her and did extremely well. I am happy. It could have been nice had we brought medal to the country. And I want to congratulate to those people who got medal for the country. By winning the medal they have made the nation proud," he said. The 23-year-old, hailing from Agartala, missed the bronze medal by 0.150 points as American gymnast Simone Biles won her third gold medal of the prestigious quadrennial event at the Rio Olympic Arena. Biles clinched the gold with a vault of 15.966 ahead of Russia's Maria Paseka (15.253) and Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland (15.216). Dipa performed Tsukahara (14.866) in her first attempt before successfully executing dangerous Produnova vault (15.266) in her second attempt to secure a remarkable 15.066 points overall. Karmakar had created history when she became the first Indian gymnast to enter the final on her debut at the quadrennial multi-discipline games after finishing eighth in the qualifying round. (ANI)