4 min readApr 1, 2026 06:17 AM IST
First published on: Apr 1, 2026 at 06:17 AM IST
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) policy — the Protection of Female Category in Olympic Sport — has not taken into account the damaging consequences of a positive SRY-gene test for an athlete. Because it targets women, people will view it as a sex test, especially in countries like India, where a lot of athletes are from rural areas.
The IOC’s aim seems to be to protect the female category. But is there enough scientific evidence to prove that transgender athletes, or even female athletes with a “positive” SRY test, have an advantage in track and field? As a sprinter, I can say that in track and field, there are other factors that make a difference, such as training methods, recovery processes, a coach’s expertise, a scientific approach, diet, and natural talent.
Athletes from different countries are built differently. Some are very tall, some are broader, some have more muscle mass, some have bigger bones. I have competed against athletes who have bigger strides than I because they are taller. Does that mean we should have separate races based on an athlete’s height?
Is the SRY test 100 per cent reliable? The whole process sounds too simple. Use one test and then stop an athlete from competing. How can an athlete be blamed for what is naturally in the body?
Those who have not been stopped from participating in the female category will say, “Yes, the test is good.” But I have gone through the trauma. Just before the 2014 Commonwealth Games, I was told I could not compete because of hyperandrogenism rules, which I challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). After I won the case, I was allowed to run again and won multiple medals, including at the Asian Games.
As soon as my test results were revealed, I was moved out of the girls’ hostel at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bengaluru. When I returned home to Odisha, the one question I was constantly asked by the media was, “Are you a girl or a boy?” I was able to be mentally strong, but does every other woman have the strength to handle such a situation?
People said I had failed a sex test, which meant that I was not a woman. I was studying at that time. When I went to class, I was told to sit on a separate bench. At the Bengaluru hostel, a coach made a remark along the lines of, “Dutee, you hid from us that you are a man and you competed against female athletes.” Some senior athletes said I would never win a medal again. My sponsorships stopped.
In rural areas, there is a lot of stigma. When I went back to my village in Odisha, I heard many unkind comments from people I had known for years. Some of my friends said they couldn’t hang out with me anymore because I was a boy. My family members also didn’t know how to react initially.
I was fortunate that I had the support to fight the case at CAS and win. I could compete again. If I had not done so, I would have had no honour left.
A lot of women athletes come from poor families; they start running barefoot. If an athlete from an underprivileged family comes up the hard way, and then she is stopped from competing because of a test, all her years of sacrifice will amount to nothing. The SRY test will also discourage parents from making their daughters athletes.
The IOC and sports federations promise to keep the test results confidential. But if an athlete suddenly stops competing, everybody will know why. A sports federation can say that the athlete is injured, but nobody will believe it. People will put two and two together and figure it out.
The IOC-mandated SRY test is discriminatory and has the potential to ruin the life and career of an athlete.
The writer is a 100m-200m specialist. She has won medals at the Asian Games, the Asian Athletics Championships, and the World University Games
