Sprinter Dutee Chand will be able to participate in the Asian athletics championship to be held in Wuhan, China, from June 3 to 7. This will enable the Odisha sprinter, a 200m bronze medallist in the 2013 Asian championship in Pune, to compete in an international competition exactly after a gap of one year.
Dutee, who had won two gold medals in women’s 200m and 4x400m relay in the Asian junior athletics championship in Chinese Taipei in mid-June last year, was barred from taking part in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games when she was suspected of having a condition called ‘hyperandrogenism’ following a test conducted in June.
Dutee’s appeal against the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) decision to declare her ineligible to compete in women’s competitions as per the IAAF regulations is pending in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The apex court in sports arbitration, however, has allowed her to take part in various competitions pending a final decision.
The 19-year-old, who recently got the relief from CAS, had reason to celebrate after an IAAF communication to the AFI early on Tuesday confirmed her return to the international scene.
“Ms Chand is eligible to compete, pending the CAS decision, at national competitions and the Asian Athletics Championships to be held in China in June. She is not eligible to compete in any other continental/international competition pending the CAS award,” said an IAAF communication.
Under the present IAAF regulations, the AFI would allow Dutee to compete in various events only if she lowers her testosterone level to a certain limit.
Nevertheless, the law student — who was represented by Jim Bunting from Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Toronto, Canada, in the CAS — seeks to have the AFI decision overturned and the hyperandrogenism regulations declared invalid and void.
