Going Viral: Derek O’Brien’s soulful open letter to Dipa Karmakar

The letter has been published by a popular news television channel and has been winning hearts on social media. He wrote, ‘…I’ve been a sports fan all my life and can recount every major Indian achievement - they’re so few! - in sport in the past 40 years. I was before a television screen, glued to a radio, when India won big victories in cricket or tennis, when PT Usha outran all of Asia, and when Vishy Anand became world champion. But truly nothing, just nothing has given me as much of a thrill as seeing you perform those definition-defying feats on the gymnastics floor. 

You finished fourth in Rio, but your performance was worth its weight in more than gold. I was a kid when Nadia Comaneci scored that perfect 10 in Montreal in 1976. I never thought then, or till a few months ago when I first read of you, that an Indian gymnast would make it to that league. Your performance that day in the Olympics moved me to tears…’