Produnova - Dipa Karmakar to return the BMW car gifted to her !!

There is lurking danger, and nothing more dangerous than Produnova, an incredibly dangerous vault and has a difficulty rating of 7.0 D-score — among the highest. It is so difficult that till date only five persons, have tried this ~ do you still remember this…

BMW AG originated with three other manufacturing companies, Rapp Motorenwerke and Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFw) in Bavaria, and Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach in Thuringia. Aircraft engine manufacturer Rapp Motorenwerke became Bayerische Motorenwerke in 1916. The engine manufacturer, which built proprietary industrial engines after World War I, was then bought by the owner of BFw who then merged BFw into BMW and moved the engine works onto BFw's premises. BFw's motorcycle sideline was improved upon by BMW and became an integral part of their business. BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1929 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built Austin Sevens under licence under the Dixi marque.  During the war, against the wishes of its director Franz Josef Popp, BMW concentrated on aircraft engine production, with motorcycles as a side line and automobile manufacture stopped altogether. After the war, BMW survived by making pots, pans, and bicycles until 1948, when it restarted motorcycle production.

Today it is one of the biggest names – there is news that German luxury car maker BMW Group Thailand is beefing up its completely built-up units (CBU) exports this year and next, aiming to ship 10,000 cars annually, mainlyto China.  Back home, in May 2016, BMW India  rolled out the 50,000^th  car locally produced from Chennai plant. The car maker said that it has further strengthened its commitment to the Indian market by increasing the level of localisation at BMW Plant Chennai upto 50%. The all-new BMW 7 Series was the 50,000^th  car locally-produced in India. Launched at the Auto Expo 2016, the all-new BMW 7 Series continues to break the innovation barrier in automotive industry with its game-changing futuristic technologies (such as Gesture Control, BMW Display Key, BMW Touch Command System, Wireless Charging, Sky Lounge and ... more)

In Jan 1980, when India defeated Pakistan in the 1^st  Test at Chepauk, Kapil Dev the Man of the Match was presented an ‘Enfield Bullet’ ~ Sandip Madusudhan Patil, made his debut in that test….the photo of Kapil Dev on a Enfield Bullet made a great poster.  In 1985, Down Under India is Thunder ~ is what Indians claimed, but for the Finals at Melbourne,  between India Pakistan, a banner screamed ‘Bus Drivers Vs Tram Conductors’.  For those who relish Cricket that was another moment of India’s glory – winning the ‘Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket’  in Australia.  ~ and that perhaps was the time when the Country heard more of the word ‘Audi’ – the luxury car won by Ravi Shastri for Man of the tournament.  In 2003, there was some controversy, of  Tendulkar having  sought customs duty waiver  for a Ferari gifted to him. There were reports of exemption for Sachin Tendulkar from paying around Rs 1.13 crore (approximately $245,000) towards import duty for the vehicle, valued at Rs 75 lakh (approximately $162,600).

At Rio Olympics,  the  Tripura-girl, who is the country's first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, managed to perform her much-appreciated ' Produnova' vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts.  Perhaps Dipa Karmakar knew of "smile when it hurts most"  even as she missed the medal in a most painful moment.  Missing the medal by such a thin margin was hurting as she wept inconsolably in the Games village with her coach Bishweshwar Nandi also crestfallen.

In the women's vault final, Dipa's average score was 15.066 from her two vaults of Tsukahara-720 and Prudonova where she logged 14.866 and 15.266 respectively to finish fourth behind Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber who logged 15.216.  "It was the best jump in her career, she was so perfect but judges were not convinced may be by the landing as she went a bit low."

Back home there were felicitations and there was this picture perfect moment.  She is in news again as the top notch Gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Wednesday revealed that she was planning to return the BMW that was gifted to her by the auto major's brand ambassador and cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar.  

Karmakar was gifted the vehicle at a function in Hyderabad organised by the Badminton Association of Hyderabad.  Dipa Karmakar's pathbreaking performance in the Rio Olympics was lauded by many, including former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was picked to present her, along with PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, a BMW car in September. However, owing to maintenance issues, Dipa has decided to return her gift to the original owner V Chamundeswaranath, president of the Hyderabad Badminton Association.The prime reason behind it seems to be the difficulty Dipa and her family is having maintaining such a posh car in a city like Agartala, where the roads are narrow and not well-maintained. Moreover, since Dipa's next assignment, the Challengers' Cup in Germany is a month away; Dipa has been advised not to bear the maintenance cost and rather devote her time towards practicing.

According to media reports, the decision to return the car was taken jointly by Karmakar's family and her coach, as maintaining it would be a challenge for them, considering there are no service centres in the north-eastern state. The Hyderabad Badminton Association has reportedly accepted the athlete's request and is hoping that the monetary equivalent of the cost of the car, which has been transferred to her account, will help her get another car better suited to Tripura's roads. A new BMW XI cost costs anything between Rs 30 and Rs 35 lakh reports the media.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13^th Oct 2016.