Guwahati: The International Testing Agency (ITA) announced that Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been suspended for a period of 21 months effective until July 10, 2023, following a positive drug test.
In her most recent competition, Dipa who shot to fame at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a stunning fourth-place result highlighted by the death-defying Produnova vault qualified for the vault final at the FIG World Cup in Baku but finished outside the top eight in the balancing beam competition.
Karmakar’s Higenamine test result was positive (S3. Beta-2 Agonists as per the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list). On October 11, 2021, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) collected the positive sample as part of an out-of-competition control.
A case resolution agreement was used to resolve the dispute in compliance with FIG Anti-Doping Rules article 10.8.2. (FIG ADR, and equivalent provision in the World Anti-Doping Code). Results for the athlete will be thrown out starting on October 11, 2021.
Higenamine may function as a broad stimulant since it has mixed adrenergic receptor activation, according to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The chemical higenamine, which was added to WADA’s list of banned substances in 2017, has anti-asthmatic properties that help to expand airways. It might also be cardiotonic which means that by making the heart’s contractions stronger, it can boost cardiac output.
Due to the suspension, the 29-year-old will be unable to compete in at least three of the six World Challenge Cup Series events as well as all four Apparatus World Cup Series competitions (Cottbus, Doha, Baku, and Cairo). At the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp (September 23–October 8) which will act as an Olympic qualifying event, her four-year exile might come to an end.