BHUBANESWAR:Odisha sprinter Dutee Chand’s turbulent career received a shot in the arm with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowing her participation in international track and field events till the final hearing on her appeal against the International Amateur Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) hyperandrogenism policy.
According to her elder sister Saraswati, also an international sprinter, Dutee and a legal team, provided by the Sports Ministry had been camping in Lausanne, Switzerland since March 22 to argue that the ruling was discriminatory and flawed. The hyperandrogenism policy bars female athletes having higher level of male hormones from competitions.
The 19-year-old Dutee was disqualified from competitions last year by the Athletics Federation of India as per IAAF’s hyperandrogenism policy after tests revealed that her body produced testosterone above permissible range.
Dutee won a gold in the 100m at the National Games in Kerala last month after she was allowed by CAS in its interim order to take part in domestic events pending a final decision. She was forced to miss the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games last year after failing the test but refused medical treatment to help make her eligible.