Odisha’s Dutee Chand Speaks In Favour Of Transgender Athletes Again, ‘Don’t Ban Them From Competing’

New Delhi: Odisha-born ace sprinter Dutee Chand has spoken out in favour of the transgender athletes, who have been banned by global governing sports bodies like swimming, rugby and cycling from participating in the women’s international competitions.

Dutee, a two-time Asian Games medallist and current national champion in the women’s 100 metres, told the Times of India on Wednesday that it’s unfair on the part of the sports administrators to stop transgender women athletes from competing “just because others can’t digest their success at the elite level”. “Everyone, irrespective of his or her gender, has their gender, has the right to play and compete. It’s the basic human principle,” she was quoted as saying from her training base, Trivandrum.

“To be honest, I don’t see such athletes getting any unfair advantage during competitions. They have already faced a lot of societal pressure and humiliation reaching where they are today. No need to make things difficult for them. Accept it as a god’s gift because what’s happening in an individual human body shouldn’t concern others. These athletes want to grow up like this, so let it be,” she added.

The 26-year-old 100m and 200m specialist from Odisha said th100m and 200m specialist from Odisha said that Such transgender athletes need to fight out their case, just the way she did it seven years back when she had dragged the IAAF and AFI to CAS.

It may be recalled that in 2015, Dutee had become a leading voice on the gender rights issues of athletes with her fight against the World Athletics’ (then IAAF) draconian hyperandrogenism policy in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

The 26-year-old was accused of being a ‘man’ for failing the hyperandrogenism (male testosterone) test and later subjected to a gender verification test by the national athletics federation (AFI).

Last Sunday, swimming’s world governing body – FINA – voted to restrict transgender women athletes from competing in elite competitions, unless they began medical treatment to suppress the production of testosterone before going through one of the early stages of puberty, or by age 12, whichever occurred later.