Sprinter Dutee Chand allowed to participate in international events

Bhubaneswar: Sprinter Dutee Chand, who was banned for hyperandrogenism, can now take part in international sports events. The Odia athlete said today that the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) of Lausane in Swtizerland has allowed her to participate till the final hearing.

The teen runner had filed a petition in the CAS challenging the guidelines of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). She was recently in switzerland to attend the hearing scheduled for March 23. The 19-year-old runner knocked the doors of the international court after she was stopped on the tracks from participating in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Incheon Asiad due to alleged hyperandrogenism in tune with the association’s July 2014 decision.

Hyperandrogenism is higher level of androgen in the body and it bars female athletes from participating in sports activities. Meanwhile, in an effort to assist Chand in her hearing at the CAS, the Sports ministry had withdrawn the standard operating procedure (SOP) which it had implemented two years ago to determine eligibility of female athletes in the country.