Indian sprinter Dutee Chand will aim to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games after the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to suspend IAAF rules that could have blocked women with high levels of male hormones from competing in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’ve been through a lot but I’m happy with the judgment,” the 19-year-old Chand told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday. “My immediate aim is to qualify for the Rio Olympics but I also know that age is on my side and I can realize my dream of winning several medals for India.”
Chand was suspended last year due to hyperandrogenism — the presence of high levels of testosterone in some females — which made her ineligible under the rules of the IAAF, the governing body for track and field.
She missed out on last year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games but was cleared to compete earlier this year pending a final verdict in her CAS case.
The rules requiring some female athletes to get medical clearance were introduced in 2011, after South African 800-meter runner Caster Semenya was sidelined for almost a year after winning the 2009 world title when she was 18.
But the CAS said Monday the world athletics body failed to prove that women with naturally high levels of testosterone had a competitive edge. It gave the IAAF two years to provide evidence in support of its theory or else the rules will be declared void. “The Indian government has helped me a lot in all this and I hope they back me more and I’m able to practice in the US in the coming months,” she added.
The sports and gender activist who pushed Chand to approach the CAS termed the decision as “historic.” “We raised certain ethical concerns,” Payoshni Mitra . “I had worked closely with athletes in India and approached the issue from a different point of view. I am glad that the CAS panel gave such a historic verdict. This can change sport forever for good.”
“This verdict upholds the notion of gender equality in sports. This will mean women athletes can compete as they are. I feel this verdict will pave the way for a more inclusive, fairer sporting culture.”
Mitra expected this will be the end of the controversial regulation. “This issue is about basic human rights and we do not think science will ever be able to support the regulation,” she said.
IAAF gives guarded response
In a guarded response to the Court of Arbitration decision to suspend the IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations for two years in a case involving Dutee, the world athletics body on Tuesday said that it will consult experts and IOC on the future course of action.
The world’s top sports tribunal, however, did not close the case and said that it will hold further hearings if the IAAF furnishes more evidence “concerning the magnitude of the performance advantage that hyperandrogenic females enjoy over other females as a result of their abnormality of high androgen levels”.
Sonowal hails decision
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision that allowed Indian sprinter Dutee Chand to resume her racing career, which was brought to a halt owing to IAAF Regulation on Hyperandrogenism. “This is a great day for women sports and for Indian sports. It is a tremendous victory for India”, Sonowal said through a press release.
Dutee had challenged the regulations and the decision of the AFI to ban her in September 2014. The Sports Ministry provided financial support to Dutee for her appeal and hearing in CAS.
With the help of Ministry, she was reinstated in the Centre for Excellence, Patiala. Dutee expressed her gratitude to Sonowal, SAI and all those who supported her unconditionally.