CHENNAI : A day after International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed that India’s leading gymnast Dipa Karmakar had tested positive for banned substance and had been sanctioned accordingly, her team is getting ready for next year’s Olympics. Dipa and her coach believe that they should be ready to compete in international competition in the next few months.
Karmakar, who finished fourth at the Rio Olympics, is serving a 21-month suspension which will get over on July 10. The ITA, engaged by International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to manage its anti-doping programme, confirmed on Friday that she had tested positive for stimulant higenamine. The stimulant is a classified under S3. Beta-2 Agonists on World Anti- Doping Agency’s (WADA) prohibited list. According to several studies, the substance is plant-based and is found in quite a few herbal products and medicines, especially in East Asia. It is also found in supplements and most of the time its name may not be revealed. Karmakar’s dope sample was collected out of competition by the ITA on October 11, 2021.
Interestingly, the athlete has been handed a reduced 21-month ban. “The case was resolved via a case resolution agreement pursuant to article 10.8.2 of the FIG Anti-Doping Rules (FIG ADR, and equivalent provision in the World Anti-Doping Code),” it said. Karmakar, in a tweet on Saturday, said: “Today marks the end of one of the longest battles I have fought for myself and my career.” She later said that she did not know how she ingested the banned substance. “The result was positive for a substance which I unknowingly ingested and could not determine the source of (the banned substance). I decided to take a provisional suspension with the hope of a swift resolution with the international federation,” she tweeted.
She also said that her suspension had been reduced by three months. She also said that it was
stressful.
Her coach Bishweswar Nandi said it was a big relief and she should be back in competition after July 10. “She is still practicing,” he told this newspaper from Gwalior on Saturday. “I am sure she will be back competing in international competitiona. Our target is to get her fit and ready for the up and coming tournaments. We don’t want her to just compete but win medals as well.”
The coach also said that they had to send supplements to Germany for testing and those were not cheap. “We wanted to come out clean but this is also fine,” he said, adding that “forget consuming, he did not even know such a substance existed. I must thank WADA also for reducing the ban.”
However, with everything behind them now, the team is focused on challenges ahead. It was a difficult period during the hearing and the ban but now that she will be cleared to compete, she will be concentrating on qualifying for Paris Olympics. At 29, she may not be young for a gymnast but Nandi felt she had a couple of years with her. “We have given a two-year target and Olympics is next year so we will try and qualify,” he said. “She is a disciplined and determined athlete and I am sure she will do well.”
WHAT IS HIGENAMINE?
Higenamine is a beta 2 agonist of plant origin. The compound has been included in WADA’s prohibited list since 2017. Higenamine may be detected in different plants and many food supplements of natural origin. The substance can be found in food supplements and may not be labelled as ingredients. Because of post-market regulation, some dietary supplement labels do not list all of the ingredients they contain, including prohibited and harmful substances.
Source: The National Center for Biotechnology Information/USADA