"Aap aged ho gaye ho. Gymnastics mein ab kya karna hai?" Dipa Karmakar narrates the typical advice that flows freely towards her

This is called return. Tripura girl Dipa Karmakar entered a national level competition after 8 long years. Due to injuries, Dipa has to go through a very difficult time. However, she worked at her own pace again at the National Senior Gymnastics in Bhubaneswar. Dipa, who finished fourth at the Rio Olympics, won gold in the women's all-around event at that event in Bhubaneswar. Undoubtedly, this is Dipa's comeback.

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Before her comeback, Dipa Karmakar is often accused to her face, of getting old. As if the rest of the world doesn't. "Aap aged ho gaye ho. Gymnastics mein ab kya karna hai? Rio ke baad hi retire hona chahiye tha, (You should have retired after Rio)"

Dipa Karmakar won her first gold in 2010. "Anyone can talk anything about athletes in India. But yes, thoda-sa prove kiya at the Nationals that I'm back," she laughs, after picking a gold and two silvers at Bhubaneswar. Dipa's eyes are now on one thing, to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. She is preparing herself for that purpose.

Dipa Karmakar won the individual all-around competition by scoring 49.55. Pranati Das was second (47.00) and Swastika Ganguly third (45.30). Dipa bagged silver in vault and uneven bars. Pranati Naik (13.067), who was India's lone representative at the Asian Games, bagged the gold on vault.

Dipa, 29, said, "I had support of my family and coach through every up and down. Not many can return from two surgeries to compete on all apparatus. We don't even have a good physio in Tripura. If I could achieve this without any support, then surely I can do more in the future," she says, explaining why the title made her extremely happy after proving "thoda-sa", a little. "I'd been waiting for this day for long,"

After a sensational fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympics, Dipa Karmakar battled through injuries. Her next best performance was a gold and bronze medal win on the 2018 World Cup circuit. However, knee and ankle injuries prevented her from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. "Some days the coach would scream a lot. Other times he patiently explained. There weren't too many days when I didn't cry returning home from practice. Without competition and exposure I was lost. So it's good to start the year with the ultimate national title," she says.

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Dipa was dropped from the Asian Games list despite topping the trials and has been shunned by central funding bodies. "Ab woh ho gayaa. I don't want to revisit that topic," she says, betraying no rage.