Indian star sprinter Dutee Chand took to social media to post a picture of her with her friend, who got married, and contragulated her with the caption: “Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.”
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Dutee became the first openly gay Indian athlete back in May 2019. She also faced a barrage of criticism from her family after she announced she was in a same-sex relationship.
“What I am doing is not wrong, nor is it a crime,” she had told News18 in an interview.
In 2021, Dutee participated in the Queen’s Baton in Birmingham and took the opportunity to shed light on homophobia in Commonwealth countries.
Dutee sent a powerful message against homophobia as she held an LGBTQIA+ flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“LGBT+ athletes should be made to feel safe and comfortable, being their usual selves without fear of persecution or death,” Dutee told PTI.
The Odisha athlete, who comes from a nondescript village of Chaka Gopalpur, and is a double Asian Games silver medallist.
Dutee won a landmark ‘gender’ case against the IAAF in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports in 2015 and she was allowed to compete after being suspended for one year.
The CAS suspended the IAAF’s policy on hyperandrogenism for two years. Later the world body changed the policy, which is now applicable only for female athletes competing in the range of 400m to 1500m, leaving out Dutee, who competes in 100m and 200m, from its ambit.
When I first acknowledged my relationship status I did not know about the LGBTQ+ movement. People derided me and told me I was ‘mentally sick’ and used swear words in public.
“I had sleepless nights, but now things have changed for the better. I never thought this would happen one day and I would be invited as the brand ambassador of CWG. It could not have been bigger than this. Now everything has stopped and the same people come up to me and show respect.”
Dutee has been in realtion with Monalisa for over foru years, and the pair had recently featured on the cover of Odia magazine, Kadambini. Monalisa first met Dutee during a Khudurkuni puja in her village and the couple will move in together after she completes her BA degeree.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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