Dutee Chand: Running, her sole weapon in fighting odds

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running."

It's unlikely Dutee Chand would have heard of this famous African fable but she has been doing just that all her life - run to survive. Life has thrown many crippling challenges at her, and poverty is just one of them. Running away from these difficulties could have been an easier and tempting option but she has bravely taken them on and succeeded. And running has been her sole weapon, companion and refuge.

Dutee, only 23, has covered a lot of distance; in life and on the track. The faster she sprinted, faster she overcame those challenges. Today the past has blurred a bit; the trappings of her humble beginning do not hold her back. Like a true fighter, she has crossed hurdles, one after the other. From sharing a single room with nine of her family members, she has now moved into a 10-room house but her battles both on and off the track are far from over.

She remembers resisting sport when suggested by the eldest sister Saraswati Chand, a state-level athlete. But the reality of every day financial duress proved to be harder.

“During that time, financial strain was huge on us. Children who did well in sports would get free books and their school fee was waived off. My sister got job in police through sports quota. I realised sport was the only way for a better tomorrow,” Dutee told DH.

“In the beginning there was no coach to guide me. I had no proper shoes or a good diet. I would survive only on rice and vegetables. By the time I turned 10, I won the scholarship to a government-run sports hostel in Bhubaneswar. From there things began to turn for the better.”

Soon, Dutee was making waves and winning everywhere. In women’ 100m event of 2013 World Youth Championships, she became the first Indian to reach the final of an international meet. The same year, she also became the senior national champion in 100m and 200m. In June 2014, Dutee won two gold medals at Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 200 metres and 4x400m relays.

She was hoping to qualify for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games but was shocked to find she was dropped from the team. In July, a media report revealed her name and details of her tests. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) later stated she was ineligible to complete as a female athlete due to hyperandrogenism, the medical condition which causes women to produce high levels of androgen, perceived to give them an advantage.

“Suddenly everyone was calling me a boy. It was an incredibly tough period. The only test I knew was dope test, I didn’t know what tests they were doing on me that day. Once the news was all over, people started viewing me differently. Many shunted me. I wondered what will I do in life. I had not known anything beyond sports,“ Dutee said.

There were many who gradually came to her support including Sports Authority of India and Payoshni Mitra, researcher and activist in gender issues in sports. Dutee took on the world body IAAF in Court of Arbitration for Sports, with legal help and expert opinion organised by Canadian and American activists and won the case. It prompted IAAF to change its rules to target only middle-distance events, arguing these were most affected by elevated testosterone.

“My first breakthrough came when I was allowed to participate in domestic events. It gave me immense relief and assurance,” Dutee said.

“I then won the case and felt someone has given me my life back. I later qualified for the Rio Olympics. From there financial breakthroughs also came my way.”

Destiny seemed to have finally made peace with Dutee. She won two bronze medals in Asian Championships in Bhubaneshwar and in the 2018 Asian Games, she won the silver medal. Then in May this year, Dutee announced she was in the same sex relationship. It drew her the wrath of the family, especially Saraswati.

“No one likes talking about their relationship in public. My sister was not in favour of my relationship and blackmailed me. Then one day I decided I will myself tell the world. What worse can happen? I fell in love, it is not a crime,” she said.

“For some days I had to bear the acrimony of people. But I also got a lot of support. After that everything became normal. We are seven siblings-six sisters and a brother- and I am third (birth order). I have ensured they got good education and sound financial backup and I will continue to do so.”

Last month, Dutee once again entered the history books when she became the first Indian woman track and field athlete to win gold at World Universiade in Napoli, Italy. “It was very special for me. My next target is to qualify for World Championships and Olympics. The timings are very tough but I am hoping to compete in Germany and I feel the exposure will help,” she said.

For now, Dutee is in a happy space. “My life has been full of struggles. But each time I have faced a challenge, I have returned stronger. I have spent my life living in a single room with nine people. Today my house has 10 rooms. It was my dream. I hope to get more medals for my country and make it proud of me. That is all I run for.”