Dipa Karmakar won millions of fans when she finished fourth in the finals of vault events in Gymnastics at the Rio Olympics in 2016. One of these fans is a certain someone called Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar recalled the moment when Dipa Karmakar performed the famous 'Produnova' vault at the Rio Olympics finals. 

"Only so far seven athletes have attempted the Produnova. Only five have succeeded. I can proudly say one of the is sitting among us," Tendulkar said pointing to Karmakar.

Tendulkar added that while Karmakar did not finish with a medal, it inspired many to follow in her footsteps.

"That is her contribution to Gymnastics."

Tendulkar on Tuesday launched a book based on her life 'Dipa Karmakar: The Small Wonder'. The book has been co-authored by Karmakar’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi and sports journalists Digvijay Singh Deo and Vimal Mohan, and released by FingerPrint Publishing.

The book is an account of Karmakar’s roller-coaster journey from the day she began her training at Vivekananda Byamagar- a fabled single-storey sporting club in Agartala - to becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics.

During the session, it was highlighted how Sachin Tendulkar and Dipa Karmakar are similar to each other. Both were naughty kids who were diverted to play sports to channel their energy. The skills of both players were honed by strict coaches - Ramakant Achrekar and Bishweshwar Nandi respectively. 

During the session after launch, Sachin Tendulkar talked about the conversation he had with Dipa Karmakar after she had returned from Rio. He said that she should not let the new-found fame and changes affect her. 

The master cricketer also shared his experience at recovering from injuries and how it affects an athlete.

Dipa has been troubled by a knee injury for some time that forced her pull out of the artistic team finals in Asian Games in August this year and made her miss several other tournaments. 

Tendulkar expressed hope that Dipa will fully recover and achieve great new feats in the future.