Rio Olympics: Rahul Gandhi lauds Dipa Karmakar for making it to vault finals

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday lauded Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar for creating history by advancing to the individual vault final in artistic gymnastics at the Rio Olympics.

"Congratulations to Dipa Karmakar on qualifying for the vault finals!What an incredible journey from Agartala to Rio!," he said in a tweet.

Karmakar became the first Indian gymnast to enter the final on her debut at the quadrennial multi-discipline games when she finished eighth in the qualifying round.

The first woman from the country to feature in the lineup of gymnasts at the Olympics, Karmakar succeeded in performing the difficult 'Prudunova' routine to secure 14.850 points after two attempts, but had to undergo a nervous wait for hours to find out that she had made the final after all other groups of gymnasts had completed their routines.

When she ended her routine, she was placed sixth in the vault apparatus, but eventually dropped to the eighth position as some high-scores later altered the standings.

"I am currently placed sixth on the vault apparatus. There are two more subdivision events left, I have crossed my fingers. I can't say for sure I have qualified, anything can happen," she said after finishing her routine.

It was a tense wait for Karmakar and millions of Indian sports followers before her place in the final was confirmed.

Making the top-eight cut in her favourite vault, Karmakar will return to the spotlight in the final that is slated for August 14.