Dutee faces storm after revealing same-sex relationship

India’s fastest woman Dutee Chand is in the eye of another storm. After her bold revelation of being in a same-sex relationship with a girl from her home town, the Odisha sprinter is now fighting for acceptance within her family.

The 23-year-old said she is in the relationship for the past four years and was emboldened by the Supreme Court’s historic September 2018 verdict to come out. She is the first Indian sportsperson to admit being in a same-sex relationship.

Dutee, who won two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games, said she plans to settle down with the girl who is from her village. “She is a 19-year-old, she loves me. She is studying BA second year in Bhubaneshwar. She is not into sports but loves to follow it, especially sprints. She watches my runs. She is very supportive, prays for my success, even fasts for me to do well,” Dutee told DH.

She said they had informed the two families and initially got the acceptance from the parents. However, now when things have come out in open, her elder sister Saraswati Chand and even her family are opposed to it.

"After it has come out in the media, my eldest sister and my mother have turned against me. My eldest sister doesn’t think it is the right thing. She is a sportsperson, she is educated. She should make the family understand. It’s in her mind that people back home will say all sorts of things about us as my partner is also from the same place. Also, she feels I will be blackmailed or my property will be usurped by my partner,” she said.

“I have always supported my family. I have done everything I could to lift us from heavy financial strain. For the last ten years, I have been staying out. I go home once or twice a year. To me, they will always be my family.”

Dutee said she got the courage to speak out after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on Section 377. “With the ruling, we knew we can make it public. It gave us courage. All my life has been about taking risks. I settled such a huge case (hyperandrogenism), which was also a huge risk. They say life is not long. It needs to be lived now. For how long will I hide it?

“So many people are not able to tell about it. Despite the law, there is fear. But I am a celebrity. If in future people find out about our relationship, they will attribute all sorts of reasons. So I thought it is better to come out on my own. We have not done any crime.”

Dutee said currently her focus is on athletics and winning medals for the country, and there are no plans to settle down. “But maybe sometime in the future, if love remains in our hearts, we plan to settle down and live life in a nice way. Sports got us together, she had read my story of struggle in sports.”

Next for Dutee is the World University Championships (in Naples in July). “I also hope to qualify for the World Championships (in Doha, in September). The focus is to qualify for the Olympics,” she said.

Born in a family of cotton weavers, Dutee, who was barred from competing in 2010 for hyperandrogenism, had successfully challenged in Court of Arbitration the IAAF rules which put a limit on testosterone levels for women competing in track and field events.