Gymnast Dipa Karmakar's coach Bishweshwar Nandi joins BJP in Tripura

Bishweshwar Nandi, the coach of gymnast Dipa Karmakar who won bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, joined the BJP in a simple ceremony at his residence here on Friday. Agartala Mayor and BJP MLA Dipak Majumder welcomed Nandi to the party.

"I am deeply influenced by how the BJP is managing the country, whether in sports or other areas, which is why I joined the party," said Nandi, a Dronacharya award recipient for his exceptional contributions to gymnastics.

He recently participated in a virtual meeting with the Union Sports Minister to discuss India's preparations for the 2036 Olympics.


Along with India, several other nations such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are positioning themselves as strong contenders to host the sporting spectacle. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to decide the host next year after holding its elections.

Dipa Karmakar, who blazed a trail by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to compete at the Olympics and finish a historic fourth, announced her retirement on October 8, ending a career in which she inspired awe for routinely performing the highly-difficult Produnova vault.

The diminutive 31-year-old from Tripura grabbed headlines with her fourth-place finish in the vault final of the 2016 Rio Games, losing an Olympic medal by just 0.15 points.