In a big relief for Dutee Chand, the Court of Arbitration for Sports on Thursday allowed the Indian sprinter to resume her career as it partially upheld her appeal against the IAAF Regulation on Hyperandrogenism which had barred her from taking part in women’s competitions.
The CAS ruling said that there was no clear evidence that she might have benefited from her condition of having enhanced testosterone levels than others.
In an Interim Award in the arbitration procedure between Chand, Athletics Federation of India and International Association of Athletics Federations, the CAS suspended the Hyperandrogenism Regulations of the world athletics body for two years while granting permission to her to compete in both national and international events.
“The panel has suspended the ‘IAAF Regulation Governing Eligibility of Females with Hyperandrogenism to Compete in Women’s Competition’ for a maximum period of two years in order to give the IAAF the opportunity to provide the CAS with scientific evidence about the quantitative relationship between enhanced testosterone levels and improved athletic performance in hyperandrogenic athletes,” the CAS said in a statement.
“In the absence of such evidence, the CAS Panel was unable to conclude that hyperandrogenic female athletes may benefit from such a significant performance advantage that it is necessary to exclude them from competing in the female category,” the world’s top sports tribunal said.
“While the Hyperandrogenism Regulations are suspended, Ms Dutee Chand is permitted to compete in both national and international level athletics events. Should the IAAF not file any scientific evidence within the two-year period granted by the CAS Panel, the Hyperandrogenism Regulations will be declared void,” it said.
The appeal hearing against the IAAF’s hyperandrogenism policy, which bars female athletes having higher level of male hormones from competitions, ended in lausanne on March 26.
The 19-year-old Dutee was disqualified last year by the AFI as per IAAF’s hyperandrogenism policy after tests revealed that her body produced natural levels of testosterone above permissible range.
She has a condition called hyperandrogenism and her body produces natural levels of testosterone so high to place her in the male range in the eyes of international track and field. In December last year, the CAS, in an interim order, allowed Dutee to take part in domestic events.
She took part in the January 31-February 14 National Games in Kerala and won a gold in women’s 100m dash. She was allowed to take part in the Asian Championships in China in June in an earlier interim order by the CAS.
At the CAS hearing, Dutee’s counsels included some well- known international experts like James Bunting and former Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court Morris Fish. Dr Payoshni Mitra, a research consultant on gender and sports issues, who has been working with Dutee, also accompanied her in lausanne.
The Sports Ministry bore the cost of Dutee’s legal battle at the CAS.
“SAI welcomes CAS’s landmark verdict on IAAF’s Hyperandrogenism regulations, which have been suspended pending scientific evidence. SAI’s faith in fair play and Dutee Chand’s endurance have finally paid off. She can now prepare without any uncertainty. We are delighted with the verdict,” Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Injeti Srinivas said.