Who is Shipra Sarkar? All you need to know about India's middle-distance runner who's charged with second anti-doping rule violation
Shipra Sarkar is one of the middle-distance runners representing Eastern Railways. The 28-year-old athlete hails from Bengal and has stunned the lookouts with her performances in the sport. Born on October 10, 1995, she has been quite reputed in the circuit of Indian athletics. Her career, though, has been stained in recent times by multiple charges of doping violations.
Shipra has been one of the faces in Indian athletics, specifically for middle-distance races such as the 800 and 1500-meter. She has constantly partaken in national and inter-state meets and has won multiple medals.
One of her notable victories was the silver medal in the 2019 National Open Athletics Championships that took place in Ranchi. Shipra Sarkar has been among the bronze medal winners in the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships, backing her capacity in middle-distance running.
She has matched up against the likes of esteemed Indian athletes P U Chitra and Tintu Luka in her performances. Her spirit and talent have also taken her to the athletics national camp in 2020, which affirms her status as one of the middle-distance runners to celebrate from the nation.
She dealt with a big blow when her tests came back positive for androgens via an out-of-competition test in Kolkata on 6 February 2020. The detected substances were etiocholanolone and androsterone, which are Anabolic-androgenic steroids, AAS.
Sarkar was thereafter sanctioned for four years, and the ban was effective from June 29, 2020, after hearings by the NADA's Disciplinary Panel and, on appeal, by the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel.
Despite this suspension, Shipra Sarkar continued to partake in the Inter-Railway Championships throughout her ineligibility period. She participated in the 1500m run in 2022 and came second, and in the 800m - third place, and 1500m - fifth place races in 2023. This raised a red flag and consequent actions by the National Anti-Doping Agency.
Shipa Sarkar's second anti-doping rule violation
This came as a surprise because Sarkar was charged with a second anti-doping rule violation upon finding that she had competed during the period of her initial suspension. The violation was counted from the date that she was presumed to have served her first suspension, which was 28th June 2024.
NADA has reacted strictly to this violation. The agency has asked Sarkar to explain how she managed to compete during her suspension period when she was officially banned from participating in any type of competition.
Competing during ineligibility is a serious offense, and NADA has warned her that the consequences could be severe: if found guilty, she shall serve an additional ineligibility period of a length equal to the one sanctioned in the first instance, thereby doubling her ban.
The Athletics Federation of India has also taken note of the situation and sought explanations from both Shipra Sarkar and the Eastern Railways sports body. The federation is keen on ascertaining how such a lapse occurred despite the suspension being openly listed on the NADA website and notification given to the respective bodies.
If Shipra Sarkar agrees to accept the consequences proposed by NADA, further proceedings might be avoided. However, if she contests the charges it could be referred back to the ADDP.
These controversies notwithstanding, Shipra Sarkar's performances in middle-distance running have fetched her quite respectable positions in world rankings. Her best position in the world ranking for the women's 800m was 271, with a world women's ranking of 3419. This simply sums up her potential and talent in the sport, which was all destroyed by these doping offenses.