Karmakar seeks clarity with Asian Games snub looming

Dipa Karmakar is confused. A little over a month after topping the selection trials for next month's Hangzhou Asian Games, the trailblazing gymnast finds herself out of the reckoning.

- Shantanu Srivastava

"The worst part is, there are no answers. No clarity whatsoever," she said. On Tuesday, the 30-year-old from Agartala, in a series of tweets, called recent developments related to the gymnastics squad for the Asian Games "demotivating and discouraging". "I was really looking forward to the Asian Games. The period of (doping) ban was a dark chapter in my life and I was looking to move on with the Asiad, but these developments have left me distraught and thoroughly confused," said Karmakar, who won nationwide praise after her impressive fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when contacted.

Karmakar, on a comeback after a 21-month doping ban, had looked forward to her fourth Asian Games.

Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) held the selection trials on July 11 and 12 in Bhubaneswar. Karmakar scored 47.05 points in the individual all-round competition to finish well ahead of her nearest competitor Pranati Das (45.80).