Coach locks Dipa in the vault!

Faced with the gigantic expectations of an excited nation, India’s trail-blazing gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been put under “house arrest” at the Olympic Games Village by her coach Bishweshwar Nandi as she gears up to script history in the vault finals on August 14.

More than 35,000 kilometres away from her hometown Agartala in Tripura, Dipa turned 23 on Tuesday but is unlikely to have received birthday greetings except for the ones from her parents.

Her only companions are roommate Saikhom Mirabai Chanu — the only Indian woman weightlifter — and of course Nandi who’s been with her for the last 16 years.

“I’ve removed the SIM card from her mobile. Only parents are allowed to talk to her. I don’t want her to lose focus,” Nandi said from the Games Village, a day after Dipa became the toast of the nation by making the final of artistic gymnastics’ vault finals.

“Her birthday celebration can wait for the moment. It’s only her parents who are allowed to talk to her at the moment during the small breaks I give her,” he added.