Indian sprinter Dutee Chand won gold (100 m) at the National Open Athletics Championships in Salt Lake. She finished in just 11.68 seconds. It should be noted that Chand was banned under athletics’ hyperandrogenism policy, which found she had naturally high levels of testosterone above a permissible level. She created history following a successful appeal against a ban imposed after a so-called gender test.
The Railways sprinter, who had won 100m and 200m double in National Open Athletics Ranchi 2013, was banned since last summer after failing a hormone test. But the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in its July verdict, suspended the “hyperandrogenism” rules, which will be scrapped if IAAF cannot provide new evidence.
19-year-old Dutee who hails from Chaka Gopalpur village in Odisha, dedicated this win to the sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Dutee is the third of seven children to a weaver couple. Dutee is currently undergoing training at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad and Nagpuri Ramesh is her coach.
Androgen
- Androgens may be called “male hormones.
- But both men’s and women’s bodies produce androgens, just in differing amounts.
- The principal androgens are testosterone and androstenedione.
- They are present in much higher levels in men and play an important role in male traits and reproductive activity.
- In women, androgens play a key role in the hormonal cascade that kick-starts puberty, stimulating hair growth in the pubic and underarm areas.
Test Your Knowledge
What are a group of hormones that that are important for female sexual and reproductive development?
What is meant by Arbitration?
