Gymnastic Federation clarifies on Dipa Karmakar's 'suspended' status
Dipa Karmamar is marked 'suspended' by FIG. However, the GFI has no clue about it. Here's what the latter has to say.
FollowIn a shocking development, it has been identified that Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been marked 'suspended' by the International Gymnastics Federation (FiG). After the discovery, the Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI) was left amused, stating that it had no clue about it, while the world body did not communicate it. While other Indian gymnasts happen to be active on FiG's website, only Dipa is shown suspended.
There is no clarity on the 'suspended' status by the FiG. Dipa gained a huge spotlight following her commendable outing during the Rio Olympics 2016, where she finished fourth in the vault event. However, she has not been active in the circuit since 2019. Yet, GFI has no explanation as to what led to her suspension.
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Speaking to PTI, Sudhir Mittal (GFI president) clarified that it had not received official communication from the FiG over Dipa's suspension. While the reason is unclear, he is confused if the suspension is genuine or just a technical glitch on FiG's website. He also affirmed that he would comment once the official confirmation arrived from the FiG.
While Dipa and her coach Bisheshwar Nandi were unavailable for comments, another GFI official noted that there could be other reasons involved in her suspension and not necessarily doping violation. He feels that it could also be related to a disciplinary matter. However, Dipa's name is not in FiG's anti-doping section, last updated in September 2021.
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Notably, FiG made it mandatory for the gymnasts to have their official FiG license for international participation, including details like name, sex, country and date of birth. The license is valid for a couple of years from its validation date. Currently, ten athletes from the world are suspended for now.
The Delhi High Court in 2018 had asked GFI to process the license of a couple of gymnasts after they filed a petition against the federation, alleging that their application forms were deemed 'incomplete', thus leading to rejection. Dipa had to undergo surgery in 2017 for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and has struggled with recurring injuries since then. Her last FIG appearance was during the 2019 World Cup in Baku.
