Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, July 27: The agony is finally over for Orissa athlete Dutee Chand. She has won her case against the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) which had banned her from taking part in international meets due to the presence of excess androgen in her body. Dutee had appealed to the Court of Arbitration (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland against the IAAF verdict September 29, last year. Her hearing took place in February and the verdict was finally announced online late Monday evening.
“The CAS panel in charge of the procedure has suspended the IAAF Regulation Governing Eligibility of Females with Hyperandrogenism to compete in women’s competition for a maximum period of two years in order to give the IAAF the opportunity to provide CAS with scientific evidence about the quantitative relationship between enhanced testosterone levels and improved athletic performance in hyperandrogenic athletes.
In the absence of such evidence, the CAS Panel was unable to conclude that hyperandrogenic female athletes may benefit from such a significant performance advantage that it is necessary to exclude them from competing in the female category. As a result, the CAS Panel feels that this rule is not applicable to the athletes who have appealed against the IAAF ruling,” CAS stated in its website, Monday.
Dutee who had been waiting with baited breath from the morning, finally got the good news in the evening at around 8pm. Dr Payoshini Mitra, who had helped her the most with her case was the first to convey the good news to Dutee who at present is in Hyderabad.
“All these months have been very painful for me,” stated Dutee over the phone late at night. “I was always tense and it was affecting my performances. Now I will be able to compete with a free mind,” stated the Oriya sprinter.
Dutee also thanked former SAI DG Jiji Thomson and Orissa Olympic Association secretary Asirbad Behera for helping her out. “The sports minister of Orissa government, Sudam Marndi has also helped me a lot. I would also like to thank the founder of KIIT, Achyuta Samanta for the way he has stood by me,” added Dutee.
Dutee stated that she will now be preparing for an Open Athletics Meet at Kolkata in September. “Hopefully, I will be able to recapture my old form,” she stated.