Kolkata,
Elite sportspersons more often than not look for inspiration on their comeback trail from injuries, and for Dipa Karmakar it is Russian gymnast Aliya Mustafina, who won four medals at the 2012 London Olympics after being almost down and out with a career-threatening injury.

Mustafina had torn her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in the lead-up to the London Olympics but ended up winning as many as four medals at the marquee event.

“Look at Aliya Mustafina. She showed remarkable courage in winning a gold, a silver and two bronze medals in London. Who would have thought of that,” said a confident Dipa.

When everyone had started writing her off, Mustafina did not crumble and made a comeback at the 2011 Voronin Cup in December. The Russian went on to lead their contingent in all four events at the London qualifiers before bagging four medals at the Olympics.

Like Mustafina, Dipa suffered an ACL tear in her knee during training earlier this year and went under the knife.