Indian star gymnast Dipa Karmakar, on Tuesday, expressed disappointment over the 'uncertainty' surrounding the Asian Games selection process.
Having served a 21-month dope ban that ended this July, Karmakar looked primed for a comeback. The 28-year-old topped the selection trials for the Asian Games, which were held in Bhubaneshwar in July.
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However, it emerged last week that Karmakar has been dropped from the final team selected for the continental event.
"The Asian Games 2023, an event I have eagerly anticipated for the past two years, looks further than it is,” she tweeted.
“To my surprise, despite topping the national trials and meeting the Ministry’s selection criteria, it appears that I will be deprived of the opportunity to participate in the Asian Games. ... [these] recent events have proven to be very demotivating and discouraging.”
On this #IndependenceDay, I am using my freedom of speech to discuss recent events that have proven to be very demotivating and discouraging.
— Dipa Karmakar (@DipaKarmakar) August 15, 2023
The #AsianGames2023, an event I have eagerly anticipated for the past two years, looks further than it is. (1/N)
Karmakar had shot to fame after she became the first Indian to reach the final of a gymnastics event as she made the final eight in vault at the 2016 Rio Games. The Indian pulled of a Produnova, known as the death vault, in the final and finished fourth, just short of a medal.
On Tuesday, Karmakar also said that there had been no communication from the federation, Sports Authority of India (SAI) or the Sports Ministry regarding the final team and the reason why she has been left out.
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“Worse still, the reasons behind this decision are unknown to me and have not been communicated officially,” Karmakar stated.
"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.
"The hard work and sacrifice that goes into preparing for major games is rarely appreciated and instead met with uncertainty and deafening silence from @Media_SAI
and @IndiaSports. All I ask is for the selection criteria to be applied fairly and consistently across all sports.
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"And request that the correct information be conveyed to us so that we don't live in uncertainty.
In the meanwhile, I owe it to my country to continue my training and I am hopeful that I will be joining @WeAreTeamIndia in Hangzhou next month."
The deferred 2022 Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou China from September 23 to October 8.
