BHUBANESWAR 16-Jul-2014 225
Odisha woman sprint sensation Dutee Chand was on July 15 dropped from Indian squad for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after she failed a recent test that showed she having high level of androgen (male hormone) in her body. But the last-minute exclusion of the 18-year-old athlete from Jajpur district caused row due to Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) dealing with the issue in a clandestine manner.
SAI first disclosed that a woman athlete had failed the gender test but refused to name her. ``A gender test was conducted on a woman athlete in Bangalore. If she is there in the list of CWG participants, her name will have to be deleted from the list,’’ SAI DG Jiji Thomson reported to have said.
Sources said SAI has adopted a zero tolerance policy over gender suspicions as India had to face embarrassment at an international event in the past when 800-metre runner Santhi Soundarajan failed the gender test at Doha Asiad in 2006 and had to return her silver medal.
The Sports Ministry while clearing the athletics team for the CWG had said that Dutee Chand was `recommended subject to medical clearance`, according to the list released by Indian Olympic Association.
But making a volte-face on July 16 today, SAI explained that it was not gender test but a test to check the level of androgen, which the ace Odisha athlete failed, leading to her exclusion. `` The test simply tells us that she has excess androgen in her body and is therefore not eligible to compete in the female category,’’ SAI said in a statement.
AFI though had said that Dutee was not picked for the CWG as she did not reach the qualifying standard prescribed by it during the National Inter-State Meet in Lucknow in June for taking part in the Games.
The sports body though left the door open for Dutee to compete in future, courtesy taking medical help. The athlete will still be able to compete in the female category in future if she takes proper medical help and lowers her androgen level to the specified range.
But Dutee maintained her stand that she has been a victim of a conspiracy. ``I have no knowledge of any gender test; nobody has informed me about any such test. I only underwent a blood sample test in Bangalore, which is mandatory before any major game. If there is such a report, then I will undergo treatment to cure myself. However, I feel it could a conspiracy to prevent me from participating in the Commonwealth Games since I have been performing well in international games and winning medals for the country,`` she told a television channel over phone from Bangalore.
The exclusion of Dutee left Srabani Nanda, also a woman sprinter, as the only one from Odisha in the Indian athletics squad for the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held from July 20 to August 3. Railway employee Srabani will be competing in women`s 4x100 metre relay.
INDIAN ATHLETICS SQUAD FOR GLASGOW CWG (32):
MEN: Rajiv Arokia, Kunhu Mohammed, Sachin Roby, Lalit Mathur, Jithu Baby, Jibin Sebastian (4x400m relay); Siddhanth Thingalaya (110m hurdle); Arpinder Singh (Triple-jump); Om Prakash Karhana (Shot put); Vikas Gowda (Discus); Ravinder Singh Khaira, Devinder Singh, Vipin Kasana (Javelin); Kamalpreet Singh, Chandrodaya Narayan Singh (Hammer).
WOMEN: Saradha Narayan, H M Jyothi, Sarbani Nanda, Asha Roy, Santhini Vallikkad, Merlin K Joseph (4x100m relay); M R Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Debashree Majumdar, Ratandeep Kaur, Anilda Thomas, Ashwini Akkunji (4x400m relay); Sahana Kumari (High jump); Mayookha Johny (Long jump); Seema Punia, Krishna Poonia (Discus); Annu Rani (Javelin).
