NEW DELHI: India's ace sprinter Dutee Chand - who was once accused of being a 'man' for failing the hyperandrogenism (male testosterone) test and later subjected to a gender verification test by the national athletics federation (AFI) - has spoken out in favour of the transgender athletes, who have been banned by global governing sports bodies like swimming, rugby and cycling from participating in the women's international competitions.
Dutee, a two-time Asian Games medallist and the current national champion in the women's 100 metres, told TOI on Wednesday that it's unfair on the part of the sports administrators to stop transgender women athletes from competing "just because others can't digest their success at the elite level". "Everyone, irrespective of his or her gender, has the right to play and compete. It's the basic human principle," she said from her training base in Trivandrum.
