Oram hits out at SAI for exclusion of Odisha sprinter Dutee from CWG

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar, July 22:

Smelling a conspiracy against Odia athlete Dutee Chand by Sports Authority of India (SAI), Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram today sought the intervention of Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to conduct a high level inquiry into the matter and allow the athlete to participate in the Common Wealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow.

Jual Oram
Jual Oram

In a letter to Sonowal, Oram said that it was unfortunate that Odisha sprinter Dutee Chand, who was selected to participate in the CWG, had been debarred to participate in the game. “It is a well orchestrated ploy of the SAI. So, the Sports Ministry should conduct a high level inquiry to take action against the officials involved in the matter. Besides, the Ministry should try hard to allow Dutee Chand to participate in the CWG in Glasgow,” said the Tribal Affairs Minister.

Maintaining that many prominent sports persons are falling prey to the discrimination and politics of sports agencies, he said the future of such sports persons is being ruined following the partiality and internal politics of the agencies, which are supposed to encourage the upcoming players.

Chand, in the eye of a storm over her gender, had also cried foul over the last minute exclusion of her name from the list of athletes selected to participate in the CWG in Glasgow.

Dutee Chand’s career came to a grinding halt after medical tests conducted by the SAI South Centre iN Bangalore revealed that she was not eligible to compete in the female category due to high testosterone levels in her body.

SAI had conducted the tests following a request from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

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