Demotivating and Discouraging! Gymnast Dipa Karmakar On 'Uncertainty' Over Asian Games Participation

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar took to social media to lash out over the uncertainty surrounding her selection in the gymnastics team for the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.

Dipa was thurst the Indian gymnastics into the spotlight when she finished a fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics but was dropped from the final list of women gymnastics squad for the upcoming Asian Games for failing to fulfil the ministry’s selection criteria.

This after she topped the trials held in Bhubaneswar on July 11 and 12 and was part of the initial squad sent to the Asian Games organisers before the July 15 deadline, but was later axed.

“On this #IndependenceDay, I am using my freedom of speech to discuss recent events that have proven to be very demotivating and discouraging. The #AsianGames2023, an event I have eagerly anticipated for the past two years, looks further than it is,” Dipa Karmakar posted on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.

“To my surprise, despite topping the national trials and meeting the @IndiaSports selection criteria, it appears that I will be deprived of the opportunity to participate in the @19thAGofficial,” she wrote.

“Worse still, the reasons behind this decision are unknown to me and have not been communicated officially. Instead, my fellow gymnasts and I are left to read about our exclusion from the Games in the news and I simply don’t know what to make of it,” she added.

Dipa underwent surgery to treat her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2017 but a nagging knee problem kept her away from major competitions, forcing her to also miss the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart.

Dipa also missed the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as she could not qualify due to an injury and cancellation of the Asian Championships.

The gymnast then served a 21-month ban ending July 10 this year after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Bishweshwar Nandi also had lashed out at Sports Authority of India (SAI) from the list for the Asian Games.

A report in PTI says a ministry official also said that Dipa is likely to be given relaxation for her contribution to Indian gymnastics.

(With inputs from Agencies)