The Curious Case Of Dutee Chand

Dutee Chand has no regrets. She’s one of India’s finest athletes, who has overcome many odds to be the woman she is today—not just a champion on track, but also full of grit outside it. In May, this year, the ace sprinter also became the first Indian sportsperson to openly declare that she’s in a same-sex relationship. In an exclusive interview with Cosmopolitan, Dutee opens up about her humble beginnings, her journey as an athlete, her coming-out story, and more.

- Sreeparna Mazumder

In 2012, a diminutive 16-year-old girl from Chaka Gopalpur—a small village in Jajpur district of Odisha—broke the national record in the Under-18 category by clocking 11.8 seconds at the 100m event. In 2013, she became the first Indian woman to reach the 100m final at the World Youth Championships. Subsequently, at the National Senior Athletics Championships that year, she became the national champion in the 100m (11.73 seconds) and 200m category (23.73 seconds).

Thus began the journey of one of India’s finest athletes. Dutee Chand had arrived.

We’re at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), for Cosmo’s digital cover shoot. It’s been raining for hours. The stadium authorities have allocated a small room (the only one with an AC) for our use. Our first impression of Dutee, as she walks in with her brother Rabindra Chand, is that she’s reserved, which can be easily (and incorrectly) confused with her being meek. As we discover later, Dutee is many things, but meek is certainly not one of them.

After all, on May 19th this year, she became the first Indian sportsperson to reveal that she’s in a same-sex relationship, and proudly so. At 5 feet 3 inches, she has a confident gait and carries herself with the air of someone who has stood the test of time and come out unscathed. No wonder, then, that she didn’t let her height (the taller the athlete, the longer the strides) become a deterrent. Instead, she worked on her strength and endurance to become an ace sprinter.