The Indian female athlete who fought her way and nailed her position as one of the best athletes of India, Dutee Chand is here to inspire millions.
India is home to a number of talents who are making their own place in the world. We can all agree that creating one's own place in this world that stages competition is not easy. What becomes even more difficult is if this place and the person's worth is questioned. One person to walk through this coal of constant questioning and doubt is Indian spiriter and athlete, Dutee Chand. She is not just any other athlete. Dutee Chand is a real-life phoenix who rose from the ashes of questioning and nailed her position as one of the best athletes and sprinter of India.
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Hailing from Odisha, Dutee Chand is the younger daughter of Chakradhar Chand and Akhuji Chand. Taking inspiration from her elder sister Saraswati Chand who is a state-level runner, Dutee stands as the third Indian woman to qualify in the Summer Olympics Games.
Apart from winning gold for the country, India's daughter faced a lot of backlashes as well. In 2014, Dutee who completed her Asian Junior Athletics Championships race with a gold medal with the aim of qualifying for the Commonwealth games was dropped out at the last minute. The reason for removing her was that the level of hyperandrogenism in Dutee made her ineligible to compete as a female athletic as per the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations. However, Dutee continued her fight against the same and in 2015 this testosterone rule was changed clearing her to compete in further races.
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What also makes Dutee Chand special is that she is India's only openly LGBTQ+ athlete who has confessed to being in a same-sex relationship. She also stated her encouragement to come out about her sexuality was the Indian SC's decision to decriminalize gay sex.
View this post on InstagramWhen life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.”
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Dutee for sure is an encouragement to many young and aspiring athletes.