Odisha sprinter Dutee Chand gets further relief in Hyperandrogenism case

Bhubaneswar: Giving a major relief to star Odia sprinter Dutee Chand, Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today suspended the proceedings of her ‘gender case’ for six months seeking more evidence in support of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)’s Hyperandrogenism policy.

The CAS issued an order with the consent of both the parties – Dutee and IAAF.

“The CAS has now issued an order by consent of the parties by which this proceeding is suspended for a period of six months, during which the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Hyperandrogenism Regulations remain suspended,” the CAS stated in a media release.

“During this period, the IAAF is to advise the CAS as to how it intends to implement its regulations moving forward. If the IAAF decides not to withdraw its current Hyperandrogenism Regulations, then these proceedings will resume before the same Panel of arbitrators,” the release added.

If the IAAF withdraws the Hyperandrogenism Regulations and/or replaces them with the proposed draft regulations it has submitted, then these proceedings will be terminated.

On July 27, 2015, in a Court of Arbitration for Sport case between Chand and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the International Athletics Association (IAAF), the CAS made an interim decision to suspend the world body’s Hyperandrogenism Regulations for a period of two years.

Notably, Dutee was disqualified in 2014 by the AFI as per IAAF’s hyperandrogenism policy after tests revealed that her body produced natural levels of testosterone (read male hormones) above permissible range.