In a surpise move, India's renowned gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been dropped from the Asian Games athletes' contingent, as per a report by The Times of India.
Karmakar, who came into the limelight following her fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympics, was reportedly not recommended in the final list of athletes in individual events for the upcoming Asian Games that get underway from September 23.
The list, TOI reported, has been sent to the Sports Ministry for final approval and is likely to be cleared by Tuesday, August 8th.
Originally named in the athletes' list sent before the July 15 deadline, the 2014 CWG bronze medallist was not considered for final selection as she has been away from gymnastics since 2019 because of injuries and her doping suspension, TOI reported quoting a source.
But in July 11-12 trials, the gymnast had stood first in the women's artistic gymastics event.
Following the development, it has come to light that Karmakar has requested the Sports Authority of India to relax the eligibility criteria for her, the TOI report stated.
The eligibility criteria states, 'In non-measurable individual sport, the player must have achieved 8th rank in the last 12 months. In sports events where rankings are not maintained or where sportspersons have not been able to improve their ranking on account of reasons like lack of exposure in international tournaments, appropriate criteria must be adopted by NSFs in consultation with the ministry.'
According to TOI which has a copy of Karmakar's letter, she said, 'I faced several setbacks, including two ACL tears in 2017 and 2019, limited opportunities to compete during the pandemic, and a 21-month suspension that concluded in mid-July 2023 due to doping violation. I earnestly request the sports ministry to consider my exceptional circumstances and kindly grant the necessary relaxation in the eligibility criteria.'