New Delhi: The International Testing Agency (ITA) has suspended Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar for a period of 21-month after testing positive for the use of a prohibited substance. The suspension order will be in effect until 10 July 2023.
With this 21-months ban, the athlete will not be able to participate in all four Apparatus World Cup Series tournaments (Cottbus, Doha, Baku, and Cairo) as well as at least three of the six World Challenge Cup Series. By the time the ban ends, the Olympic qualifier, 2023 World Championships in Antwerp (September 23-October 8) will be ongoing.
The gymnast has been tested positive for Higenamine (S3. Beta-2 Agonists as per the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list). The positive sample was collected on behalf of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in the scope of an out-of-competition control on 11 October 2021.
According to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), higenamine has mixed adrenergic receptor activity, which means it could act as a general stimulant. WADA added Higenamine to its list of prohibited substances in 2017. It can act as an anti-asthmatic to open up airways and can also be cardiotonic, which means it can increase cardiac output by strengthening heart contraction.
Dipa was recently seen in the FIG World Cup in Baku, where she made the vault final but failed to place in the top eight in the balanced beam event. She rose to fame in the 2016 Rio Olympics with a stunning fourth-place finish highlighted by the death-defying Produnova vault.
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