NEW DELHI: Strange are the ways of the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI). On May 15, the Sudhir Mittal-led federation came up with a list of core probables, including dope-tainted Dipa Karmakar’s name in the women’s artistic event for the national camp, scheduled from May 24.
On May 16, it submitted a proposal to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) requesting sanctioning of funds to conduct the camp in preparation for the upcoming Asian Championships in Singapore next month, the Hangzhou Asian Games and other international tournaments.
The proposal had names of athletes, coaches and support staff personnel who will be part of the preparatory camp. Oddly, this time Dipa’s name was missing from the list, prompting SAI to investigate the matter. According to SAI, the purpose of identifying the core probables by any national sports federation (NSF) in India is to include them at the national camp, for which selection trials are undertaken.
Dipa’s name was included in the list of core probables by the GFI despite the gymnast serving a 21-month suspension period because of her dope failure, which will end on July 10, 2023.
After learning about her inclusion, the SAI has made sure that Dipa doesn’t get a backdoor entry to join the camp.
The GFI had been arguing that a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) clause allows Dipa to return to training with the team two months before the expiry of an athlete’s ineligibility period and that the ‘Produnova’ girl will only return to international competitions after serving out her ban period.
However, the GFI has remained silent on several counts: 1) Why was Dipa picked when she didn’t participate in the mandatory trials in Bhubaneswar on May 5 and 6 conducted to select core probables? 2) How can Dipa be identified as a core probable when she hasn’t participated in a single domestic or international competition in the last 21 months owing to her doping suspension and 3) Why did GFI’s communication mention Dipa as a core probable for the national camp but dropped her name in the proposal sent to SAI?
Dipa was sanctioned by the International Testing Agency (ITA) in early February this year after her dope sample collected out-of-competition on October 11, 2021 returned positive for higenamine – a prohibited substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) code.
