Northeast CWG medalists get warm welcome on return to India

Commonwealth Games medalists received a warm welcome upon their arrival back home. Tripura's Dipa Karmarkar and Manipur's Laishram Sarita Devi were among seven players from the northeast who delivered laurels to their country.

Twenty-year-old Dipa Karmakar, a gymnast from Agartala, Tripura, became the first Indian woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal in gymnastics. She won a bronze in the vault category.

Dipa scored the highest in the second vault with 15.100 to bring up her average to 14.366.

She was given a warm welcome in Agartala by hundreds of fans, her relatives, sports lovers and well wishers.

Now, she is all set to play in the Asian Games in South Korea this September, and is hoping to get a gold medal.

"I am very happy and grateful to everyone. Because of your blessings and prayers, I have reached home safely. If I could get a gold or a silver instead of a bronze medal, I would have been much happier. Now, my next target is to get a gold medal in the Asian Games, she said.

Dipa and her coach Nandi were felicitated at Umakanta mini-stadium by Tripura's Sports Minister Shahid Chowdhury.

Her father, Dulal Karmakar, said, "I hope that she gets more laurels in the coming competitions like the Olympics and Asian Games."

Meanwhile, Laishram Sarita Devi from Manipur, who bagged a silver medal in boxing, received a grand welcome on her arrival at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Sarita Devi became the first women boxer to have made it to the Games, as women's boxing was introduced for the first time this year.

"We are very happy. For the first time, women boxing was introduced at the Commonwealth Games, and we have created history by being the first women boxers to win. People will remember our names "Pinki and Sarita" forever," she said.

Seven players from Northeast have won medals at the Glasgow Commonwealth games in boxing, weightlifting, judo and gymnastics.