Deepa Karmakar, what have you done? Once used to be proud, today India’s head has been lowered

New Delhi: Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been banned for 21 months after failing a dope test conducted by the International Testing Agency (ITA). Claims made by Indian officials last year that his suspension was not doping-related turned out to be false. Karmakar’s dope samples were collected by the ITA out of competition. The ITA is the independent agency responsible for the anti-doping program of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

Karmakar’s ban will end on July 10 this year as his samples were taken on October 11, 2021. The ITA said in a statement, ‘ITA confirms that Dipa Karmakar has been banned for 21 months which will end on 10 July 2023. She was found guilty of consuming Hizenamine, which is on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The ITA further stated that Karmakar’s dope issue was dealt with under FIG’s anti-doping rules and WADA’s provisions. Karmakar, who finished fourth in vault at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has been battling injuries since undergoing surgery in 2017. Their last tournament was the 2019 World Cup in Baku.

Karmakar and his coach Bisheshwar Nandi remained tight-lipped about the dope suspension at that time. Sudhir Mittal, president of the Gymnastics Federation of India, had also said that he had not received any communication from FIG in this regard. The officials had even said that he was suspended for disciplinary reasons and not for doping.

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