New Delhi : In the middle of her renewed fight against the hyperandrogenism policy and a looming Court of Arbitration (CAS) hearing in Lausanne, there’s some good news for sprinter Dutee Chand.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which has challenged the CAS’s 2015 verdict into Dutee’s hyperandrogenism case allowing the Odisha sprinter to return to international competitions, has written to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), inviting Dutee to compete at the next month’s World Athletics Championships in London.
Dutee hasn’t been able to breach the World Championships qualifying mark of 11.26s in the recent meets and the closest she had come to the mark was at the second Indian Grand Prix in Delhi in May, where she had clocked 11.30s in the 100m. According to an AFI official, the IAAF rules state that for 100m and 200m races the competition start list must have 32 athletes. Since the IAAF is falling short of numbers in the 100m event, they drew up a list of runners, who were close to the qualifying mark. From India, Dutee’s 11.30s effort is the closet to the qualification mark and that is why she has been invited for the prestigious event.
Confirming the development, Dutee’s coach Nagapuri Ramesh and AFI’s selection committee chairman GS Randhawa told The Tribune that it’s a good news for the sprinter and it would boost her confidence ahead of the all-important CAS hearing.