Dutee Chand

Dutee Chand (born 3 February 1996) is an Indian professional sprinter and current national champion in the women's 100 metres event.[5] She is the third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women's 100 metres event at the Summer Olympic Games. However, in the 2016 Summer Olympics,[6] her 11.69s in the preliminary round did not qualify her for the next round. In 2018, Chand clinched silver in women's 100m at the Jakarta Asian Games. It was India's first medal in this event since 1998. In 2019, she became the first Indian sprinter to win gold at the Universiade, clocking 11.32 seconds in the 100m race.[7][8]

Dutee Chand
Chand at the 2017 Asian Championships
Personal information
Born (1996-02-03) 3 February 1996[1][2]
Jajpur, Odisha, India
Alma materKalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
Height150 cm (4 ft 11 in)[3]
Weight50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Country India
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 metres, 200 metres
ClubOdisha Mining Corporation
Coached byRamesh Nagapuri[3]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m: 11.22 NR(2019)
200 m: 23.00 (2018)[4]
Medal record
Representing  India
Asian Games
2018 Jakarta100 m
2018 Jakarta200 m
Asian Championships
2013 Pune 200 m
2017 Bhubaneswar 100 m
2017 Bhubaneswar 4×100 m
2019 Doha 200 m
Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
2016 Doha 60 m
South Asian Games
2016 Guwahati100m
2016 Guwahati200m
Asian Junior Athletics Championships
2014 Taipei 200 m
2014 Taipei 4×400 m
Updated on 30 August 2018.

Dutee is also India's first athlete to openly come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, when she spoke about being in a same-sex relationship in 2019.[9]

Early life

Chand was born on 3 February 1996 to Chakradhar Chand and Akhuji Chand in the Jajpur district of Odisha.[10][11] She is from a below poverty line weavers family.[12][13] Her source of inspiration is her older sister Saraswati Chand, who competed in running at state level.[3][13]

Career

2012–2013

In 2012, Dutee Chand became a national champion in the under-18 category, when she clocked 11.2 seconds in the 100 metres event.[14]

Clocking 23.811 seconds, Chand won the bronze in the Women's 200 metres event at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships at Pune. The year also saw her become the first Indian to reach the final of a global athletics 100 metres final, when she reached the final in the 2013 World Youth Championships.[15] In the same year, she became the national champion in 100 metres and 200 metres when she won the events clocking 11.73 s in the final in 100 metres and a career-best 23.73 s in 200 metres at the National Senior Athletics Championships at Ranchi.

2014 Hyperandrogenism controversy

In June 2014, she won two gold medals at Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 200 metres and 4 × 400 m relays. In the 200 m event she bettered her previous timing to 23.74 secs and hoping to get qualified for the Commonwealth Games but Chand was dropped from the 2014 Commonwealth Games contingent at the last minute after the Athletic Federation of India stated that hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete.[16][17] Following Commonwealth Games she was also dropped from the Indian contingent for the 2014 Asian Games. There has been no suggestion that Chand has been involved in cheating or doping—the decision was made in compliance with International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations on “female hyperandrogenism” designed to address a perceived advantage for female athletes with high androgen levels. The decision has been condemned by Australian intersex advocates.[18] The Athletic Federation of India and IAAF's actions were widely criticised as an affront to Chand's privacy and human rights.[19]

“They have tested her at the last minute, humiliated her and broken her heart,” she told The Hindu. “All sorts of things have been written about her. Now, if she re-enters the sports field, things will not be normal. Even if she takes treatment, people will kill her with their suspicious gaze.”

Santhi felt the matter could have been dealt with discreetly. “That things became public, is wrong. Would they have done it if it was their daughter?” she asked. “Who is responsible for her future now? The job and the money are secondary problems. Think about how much she would have suffered. She is not from a wealthy or powerful family; just another ordinary family.

“Even if she gets help from the State association, can she stay in peace in her village? She will find it tough to get married.”[20]

— Santhi Soundarajan about Dutee Chand

2015 testosterone rule change

Chand appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Canadian law firm Davies, Ward, Philips & Vineberg, LLP represented her on a pro bono basis. The IAAF policy on hyperandrogenism, or high natural levels of testosterone in women, was suspended following the case of Dutee Chand v. Athletics Federation of India (AFI) & The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, decided in July 2015.[21] The ruling found that there was a lack of evidence provided that testosterone increased female athletic performance and notified the IAAF that it had two years to provide the evidence.[22][23][24] This effectively removed the suspension of Chand from competition, clearing her to race again.[25]

Santhi Soundarajan, an Indian middle-distance runner, extended her support to Chand, saying that Chand should not be "victimized". She said that steps should be taken to ensure Chand's return to the track.[26]

2016

As soon as the hyperandrogenism rule changed, she started taking part in track competitions and participated at the 2016 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in 60 metres where in the qualification round she set the Indian national record clocking in at 7.28 secs and went on to win the bronze medal in the final, clocking a time of 7.37 secs.

Dutee clocked 11.33 secs in women's 100m dash to win the gold and erase Rachita Mistry’s 16-year-old earlier national record of 11.38 secs in the 2016 Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in New Delhi, however she missed the Rio Olympics qualification norm of 11.32 secs by one-hundredth of a second.[5][27] But finally on 25 June 2016, Dutee broke the very same National record twice in one day after clocking 11.24 at the XXVI International Meeting G Kosanov Memorial at Almaty, Kazakhstan, thereby qualifying for the Olympic Games. “I am really happy at the moment, it has been a tough year for me and I am so happy that my coach ... and my hard work has paid off. I would like to thank all the people in India who were praying for me to qualify. Your wishes have paid off.”, she exclaimed.[28]

Chand in action at relay event on track in 2017.

At Rio 2016 Olympics, she became the third Indian woman to participate for the Women's 100 metres, though she did not move beyond the heats, where she clocked 11.69 seconds.

Since Rio, Chand has been training at Hyderabad with young athletes, most notable among them Indian Badminton Star P. V. Sindhu. The sprinter is glad to have the new training base and P. V. Sindhu as a companion. Despite being the first woman to represent India in the Olympics sprint event in 36 years, Dutee was made to feel isolated due to her condition of hyperandrogenism. After shifting her base she said, “It’s like a home away from home. There are lots of friends to gossip with”.

2017−present
Chand (left) with the Indian 4 × 100 m team at the 2017 Asian Championships

In 2017, at the Asian Athletics Championships she clinched two bronze medals, one in the Women's 100 metres, another in the Women's 4 × 100 m relay with Srabani Nanda, Merlin K Joseph, and Himashree Roy at Bhubaneswar.[29]

At the 2018 Asian Games, in the Women's 100 metres finals, Chand won the silver medal, her first Asian games medal, clocking 11.32 sec on 26 August.[30] Again on 29 August, she bagged her second silver at the Asian games in the Women's 200 metres final.[31] Her silver in 100 m, was India's silver medal in this category after 32 years since P.T.Usha won in 1986 and Chand's first medal in the Asian games as she was banned in 2014 and her 200 m silver is after 16 years for India since Saraswati Saha's gold in 2002 at Busan.[32]

As she won these two medals after a long court battle, she expressed her concern about her future saying, "My legal team helped me to come back. But nobody could guarantee what will happen in the future." Citing Caster Semenya's ongoing fight, she said, "Caster Semenya is still fighting. There is always fear but you need to overcome it."[33]

At the 2019 Summer Universiade in Napoli, Chand won gold in the 100m race, becoming the first Indian woman sprinter to win gold at the Universiade. She finished the sprint in 11.32 seconds.[7][8][34] She was also the flag-bearer during the opening ceremony of the event.[35]

Support to Caster Semenya

Caster Semenya is the present Olympics Champion and World Champion in Women's 800 metres. She is also affected by the Hyperandrogenism rule of IAAF like that of Dutee but faced different fate. In April 2018, the IAAF announced new rules that required hyperandrogenous athletes to take medication to lower their testosterone levels, effective beginning in November 2018.[36][37][38] Due to the narrow scope of the changes, which only apply to athletes competing in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m, many people thought the rule change was designed specifically to target Semenya.[39][40][41] At an interview to The Indian Express, Chand expressed her pain and struggle of four years, when she was controversially not allowed to compete in any international events due to hyperandrogenism. "These four years have been extremely tough for me. The negativity, fear of my career ending prematurely, insensitive comments about my body, I have faced them all. I am extremely relieved that I can run fearlessly again, knowing that now my battle exists only on the track and not off it," Dutee told The Indian Express. She said, she was concerned about her “friend” Semenya that she wrote a mail to the multiple Olympic and World Championship winner, offering the South African to take legal help from her own team.[42]

Personal life

In 2013, she enrolled in the KIIT University to study law.[43] She is presently employed as an executive officer in the state PSU The Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd.[44]

In 2019 she became India's first ever openly lesbian athlete as she publicly stated that she is in a same-sex relationship, saying that the Indian Supreme Court's decision to decriminalise gay sex in 2018 encouraged her to speak publicly about her sexuality, mentioning that she was in a same-sex relationship.[9][45][46][47] Chand faced severe backlash from her home village after her announcement, whose residents disavowed her remarks and called them "humiliating".[48]

International competitions
Chand (right) on podium after winning bronze at the 2017 Asian Championships.
Representing  India
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Outdoor Competition
2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics Donetsk, Ukraine 6th 100 m 11.71 sec
Asian Athletics Championships Pune, India 200 m 23.811 sec
2014 Asian Junior Athletics Championships Taipei, Taiwan 200 m 23.74 sec
4 × 400 m relay 3.40.53 min
2016 XXVI G Kosanov Memorial Almaty, Kazakhstan NR 100 m 11.24 sec[28]
Rio Olympics(Heat 5) Jakarta, Indonesia H5–7th 100 m 11.69 sec
2017 Asian Athletics Championships Bhubaneswar, India 100 m 11.52 sec
4 × 100 m relay 44.57 sec
World Championships in Athletics (Heat) London, UK H5–5th 100 m 12.07 sec
2018 Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia 100 m 11.32 s
SF1–1st PB 200 m 23.00 s
23.20 s
2019 Asian Athletics Championships Doha, Qatar H4−1st NR 100 m 11.28 sec
SF NR 11.26 sec
FL−5th 11.44 sec
200 m 23.24 sec
XXX Summer Universiade Naples, Italy 100 m 11.32 sec
Indoor Competition
2016 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships Doha, Qatar H−1st NR 60 m 7.28 s
7.37 s
IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland, USA H5–5th 60 m 7.30 s
SF3–8th 7.62 s
H− Heats/Qualification Rounds
SF− Semi-Finals
FL− Finals
NR− National Record
PB− Personal Best

Awards and honours
  • ₹3 crore (US$420,000), from the Government of Orissa for winning the silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games.[49]

See also

References
  1. "Dutee Chand celebrates her birthday". www.orissadiary.com. 3 February 2020.
  2. "Arjuna Award Would Motivate Me to Breach Olympic Qualification Mark: Dutee Chand". www.news18.com. 23 August 2020.
  3. Dutee Chand. asiangames2018.id
  4. Dutee Chand at World Athletics
  5. "Anirudha, Dutee emerge fastest; Jyothi settles for silver medal". Deccan Herald. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  6. "Dutee Chand from India Qualifies for Women's 100m". 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  7. "Dutee Chand wins 100m gold in World Universiade, creates history - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  8. NapoliJuly 10, Indo-Asian News Service; July 10, 2019UPDATED; Ist, 2019 09:36. "Dutee Chand wins 100m gold at World University Games". India Today. Retrieved 10 July 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. "Dutee Chand becomes first openly gay Indian athlete". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  10. "Dutee Chand biography". Orissasports. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  11. "Dutee to lead India in Asian Youth Games". The Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  12. "Sprinter Dutee Chand set to realise Olympic dream – Times of India". indiatimes.com.
  13. Das, Tanmay (25 June 2016). "Undeterred Dutee Chand sticks to her track, makes it to Rio Olympics in 100 meters category". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  14. "Dutee Chand breaks 100m record". The Hindu. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  15. "Dutee Chand is the first Indian sprinter in World 100m final". drinksbreak. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  16. Slater, Matt (28 July 2015). "Sport & gender: A history of bad science & 'biological racism'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  17. "Caster Semenya expected to be affected by IAAF rule changes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  18. "Commonwealth Games sprinter's disqualification shows Australian athletes could face "gender testing"". starobserver.com.au.
  19. "Gender struggles for women to find equality in sport". directo.fi.
  20. Shreedutta Chidananda. "Dutee Chand finds support in Santhi". The Hindu.
  21. Court of Arbitration for Sport (July 2015). CAS 2014/A/3759 Dutee Chand v. Athletics Federation of India (AFI) & The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  22. Branch, John (27 July 2016). "Dutee Chand, Female Sprinter With High Testosterone Level, Wins Right to Compete". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2016. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland, questioned the athletic advantage of naturally high levels of testosterone in women and therefore immediately suspended the practice of 'hyperandrogenism regulation' by track and field's governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations. It gave the organization, known as the I.A.A.F., two years to provide more persuasive scientific evidence linking 'enhanced testosterone levels and improved athletic performance'.
  23. "Government explores CAS option in Dutee case". The Times of India.
  24. Branch, John (27 July 2015). "Dutee Chand, Female Sprinter With High Testosterone Level, Wins Right to Compete". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  25. "Dutee Chand cleared to race as IAAF suspends 'gender test' rules". BBC News Online. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  26. "Santhi Urges Establishment to Help Sidelined Dutee". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  27. "National Open Athletics: Golden double for Dutee, Surya". Times of India. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  28. "Indian sprinter Dutee Chand defies the odds to make Rio 100m". Reuters. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  29. "Dutee, Srabani sprint to relay bronze | Orissa Post". www.orissapost.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  30. "Asian Games 2018: India's Dutee Chand wins silver in Women's 100m Final event". Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  31. "Asian Games: Dutee Chand bags second medal, wins 200m silver". Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  32. "Asian Games 2018: Dutee Chand wins silver in women's 200m, her second medal from the Asiad". Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  33. "Asian Games 2018: Double silver medalist Dutee Chand fearful of future, says could be made to 'suffer' again". Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  34. NDTVSports.com. "Dutee Chand First Indian Woman To Win 100m Gold In World Universiade | Other Sports News". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  35. "Napoli 2019 Opening Ceremony - As it happened!". FISU. 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  36. Caster Semenya to be forced to lower testosterone levels or face 800m ban. Telegraph.co.uk (25 April 2018). Retrieved on 2018-09-03.
  37. Caster Semenya expected to be affected by IAAF rule changes. BBC Sport (26 April 2018). Retrieved on 2018-09-03.
  38. IAAF introduces new eligibility regulations for female classification. IAAF.org (26 April 2018). Retrieved on 3 September 2018.
  39. Young, Dennis (26 April 2018) The Only Point Of Track’s Dumb New Testosterone Rules Is To Make It Illegal To Be Caster Semenya. deadspin.com
  40. New IAAF testosterone rules could slow Caster Semenya by up to seven seconds | Sport. The Guardian. Retrieved on 4 September 2018.
  41. Semenya's reign to be ended by new IAAF gender rule. Uk.sports.yahoo.com (25 April 2018). Retrieved on 2018-09-04.
  42. I have offered Caster Semenya my legal team: Dutee Chand. The Indian Express (27 April 2018). Retrieved on 2018-09-04.
  43. "Rousing welcome to Dutee Chand in KIIT". Odisha Live. 13 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  44. "disha Govt Gives Appointment To Sprinters Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda". OdishaTv. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  45. IANS. "Dutee Chand on same sex relation: SC gave me belief that we aren't wrong - Sportstar". Sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  46. "Dutee Chand: India's first openly gay athlete". aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  47. "Sprinter Dutee Chand becomes India's first openly gay athlete". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  48. Dhillon, Amrit (5 June 2019). "'It's humiliating for us': village disowns Dutee Chand, India's first openly gay athlete". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  49. Chand appeared in India’s most famous TV show conducted by actor Amitabh Bachhann called Kaun Banega Crorepati on 1st Nov 2019. Cash awards by state governments for Asian Games medal winne | Asian Games 2018 News. Times of India (31 August 2018). Retrieved on 2018-09-04.
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