DipaKarmakar’s two-year doping suspension

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It has emerged that Indian gymnastics star DipaKarmakar has been serving a two-year suspension since mid-2021, according to a sentence handed down by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The 29-year-old achieved stardom after just missing out on the bronze medal and finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

While her suspension was publicly known since March, the reasons remained unclear, as no information was available from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the Indian gymnastics body (GFI) or the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Dipa and her coach Bishweshwar Nandi have remained silent over the issue.

According to reports, the Sports Authority of India and NADA have placed the responsibility on her long-term coach Nandi not informing the WADA about her whereabouts through the Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS). This is meant to keep the WADA informed about athletes and their location, so that they may remain involved with its out-of-competition testing programmes, and failure to do so thrice can result in suspension for 12-24 months.

Karmakar has also struggled with injury and underwent surgery on her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2017. She participated in the 2019 World Cup in Baku but missed out on the Tokyo Olympics due to a subsequent knee injury.