New Delhi: Deepak Kabra had become the first Indian to be chosen as a judge for the gymnastics at the Olympics which begins on July 23 in Tokyo. Kabra will be judging in the men’s artistic gymnasts in the Japanese capital, fulfilling a life goal for the man who knew he wouldn’t have made it as an active gymnast due to his weak fundamentals.
“I had got the invitation in March last year but then the Olympics got postponed and what followed was a nervous wait for more than a year,” Kabra told PTI. “I got confirmation again in April but with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging there was still uncertainty whether Olympics will actually happen. But I am happy that at last, I will be able to live my Olympic dream.”
The 33-year-old from Maharastra came to the sport late and realized soon that his fundamentals were insufficient to make it as an athlete. “I started very late at the age of 12 in 2000. I used to live in Surat and the facilities were not great at that time. I competed in national-level events, also participated in the 2007 National Games in Guwahati,” said Kabra, who was a Gujarat state champion from 2005 to 2009.
“I knew I didn’t have a future as an athlete, my fundamentals were not strong but I had the passion so I started judging. My coach Kaushik Bediwala was also a judge, so I took inspiration from him and soon took a course and topped it in 2009,” he added.
Kabra’s first international assignment was at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India and also went on to become the first Indian judge to officiate at the 2014 Asian Games and Youth Olympics.
He also served as a judge at the Asian and Commonwealth Games in 2018, as well as the Youth Olympics in Argentina, as well as other international events such as World Cups. “I was the youngest judge at 2010 CWG. I have officiated in around 20 major events so far. Olympics was the only one missing, now it completes my portfolio,” said Kabra, who is a category 2 judge.
“It takes a minimum of 12 years to reach the Olympics and I was lucky to get it exactly after 12 years,” said Kabra, who was appointed as a member of the Asian Gymnastics Union’s technical committee in 2018.
Pranati Nayak, who won a bronze medal on vault at the 2019 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, will represent Indian gymnastics in Tokyo. Dipa Karmakar remained India’s biggest gymnastics star, finishing fourth in the women’s vault finals at the Rio Olympics five years back.
