Odisha-born sprinter Dutee Chand has won a landmark case against the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF), which had removed her name from the Commonwealth Games team in July 2014. Chand has a condition called hyperandrogenism, due to which she has a higher-than-usual level of (naturally-occuring) testosterone.

 

The IAAF’s rules stated that Chand would not be allowed to participate in the female category. However, the sprinted insisted she had always been raised no differently from other girls, and said she would seek no treatment for her hyperandrogenism. Instead, she challenged this verdict by approaching the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) based in Lausanne, which declared the IAAF’s rule void.

 

As a result, 19-year-old Chand – whose parents are marginalised weavers from the Gopalpur village – has been given the go-ahead to compete in national as well as international events in the female category for the next two years.