‘I’m excited to be back on the mat’
It’s a huge let down for especially those of us who have qualified for the Games and have been training really hard,” says Olympic gymnast Dipa Karmakar on the postponement of Tokyo Olympics. The athlete is single handedly responsible for catapulting the popularity of gymnastics in India. “After Rio Olympics, people started talking more about gymnastics in my home state Tripura, especially the new generation, who were not very aware about gymnastics and never considered having a future in it. They started turning up in numbers to practice,” recounts Karmakar. The athlete, however, does not fail to appreciate the silver
lining that’s evident in these times. “Now that I’m at home for the past five months, I am trying to spend some quality time with my family, which we athletes often miss out while being busy with our career. I have also been training at home and keeping myself fit so that it doesn’t become much of a struggle for me to start fullfledged training when things resume.”
Karmakar has also kept herself busy by being part of numerous welfare initiatives. “I think it was true for most athletes, we’ve been training at home. But thanks to the State and Central Government, the training centre in Agartala has opened up recently, following safety guidelines and I am very excited to be back on the mat,” she says, adding, “There have been downsides to these times as well. When you look around, so many household staff losing their jobs. This is why I became a part of help your help movement. During these times of distress, it feels great to be able to extend support to the people who have looked out for us, she concludes.
Actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, has announced that an independent thirdparty investigation has been launched into the allegations of unprofessionalism levelled by him against director Joss Whedon.
“After 5 weeks of interviews with various cast/ crew @WarnerMedia has officially launched an independent third-party investigation to get to the
I am spending some quality time with my family, which athletes often miss out.
heart of the toxic and abusive work environment created during Justice League reshoots...” he wrote.
Whedon had taken over the reins of Justice League after original director Zack Snyder had to leave the project in the wake of a family tragedy. Whedon has offered ‘no comment’ on the controversy.