Bhubaneswar: The 'gender' case in which ace athlete Dutee Chand was banned from international events in 2014 and later relieved after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulation that banned female athletes with high testosterone levels, has come back to haunt the Odia athlete just before the Asian Athletics Championship here. Dutee is, however, free to take part in Asian Athletics as well as the upcoming World Championships if she qualifies.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe today said that in response to CAS that had asked the IAAF to 'go and do more work in that area', the apex athletics body has readied evidence after working on data and scientific background to back their claim that high testosterone levels or the 'hyperandrogenism' condition indeed gives athletes an edge over the other female competitors.
"We at IAAF follow a basic principle in female sport to protect and defend athletes and it is our responsibility to give them a common level. We were asked to look at the scientific background and we worked on the data," said Coe. He informed that the IAAF will soon submit its report to CAS. He added that the athletes in question are free to take part in all upcoming events for now, including the World Championships that begin in a week or two.
Considered a landmark case, the CAS in 2015 lifted the ban on Dutee from taking part in international sporting events after her androgen levels were allegedly found to be high. The Court had, however, also given the IAAF two years to do their research and show evidence regarding their claim that the androgen hormone levels boost a female athlete's performance.
While Dutee could not make it to the Commonwealth Games in 2014 owing to the ban, she made it t o the Olympics even after almost a year of gap in participation. Recently, she clinched the gold in the 21st Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championship in Patiala last month.