THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: She caught the world’s imagination with her revelation that she was in a same-sex relationship. But within just a couple of days, Dutee Chand, the first high-profile Indian athlete to come out as gay, finds herself in a web of allegations and counter-allegations over the issue.
On Tuesday, the Asian Games silver-medallist addressed the media to level some serious allegations against her family members. “I have been in the relationship for the last three years and my family knows it. My mother loves me very much, but I face threats from my sister. She had demanded `25 lakh recently. When I expressed my inability to pay, she had threatened to divulge my relationship and destroy my career. That’s why I decided to make it public,” she said.
Dutee’s reaction comes after her mother Akhuji Chand and elder sister Saraswati Chand disapproved of her decision to be in a same-sex relationship. But she believes her mother must have been pressurised to speak against the relationship. She also warned that she will take legal action against those involved in maligning her image.
“As an adult, I have the right to choose a person who I like. Every person needs a partner with whom she or he can spend the rest of her or his life. There should not be any controversy over my decision. I am sad because my family members, who should stand behind me, are maligning my image,” a visibly worried Dutee said.
Saraswati’s counter-claims
However, Dutee’s sister Saraswati pinned the blame on the family of Dutee’s partner and claimed that they were exploiting the 23-year-old. “They (girl and her parents) are exploiting Dutee. They are greedy and clever. They hail from a modest background. They will eventually leave with her properties. Just wait and watch, my prophecy will come true in the next two or three years,” she alleged. “My sister got their house constructed. She gifted a gold chain to the girl’s mother and even helped her brother land a job in a private university in Bhubaneswar.”
Saraswati also claimed that Dutee had planned to ‘marry’ her partner in a five-star hotel on May 25 before the news became public. “This talk of marriage started around three months ago. She even invited villagers for the function and blackmailed my mother to attend the ceremony. She threatened to stop sending money for day-to-day expenses of the family if we did not attend. The date was May 25 but I don’t know whether they will go ahead with the plan or not, after all this drama,” she said.
Saraswati did, however, assert that the family was not against her marriage or her relationship, but wanted Dutee to focus on her career at the moment.Dutee is currently training at a camp in Hyderabad, in preparations for the World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics. Though she is shaken by the opposition she faces from her family, she is confident that it won’t affect her performance. “Such controversies cannot deter me from achieving my goal. My focus is on the Olympics. But I’m unable to concentrate on my training because of the unnecessary controversy. I would be happy if my family and the society would support my decision,” Dutee said.(With inputs from Bhubaneswar)