‘She was one of our own, but let us down’: Hailed as a queer icon, but rejected in her village, the paradox that is the star athlete's life
GOPALPUR (ODISHA): Sometime in 2013, Gopalpur, a nondescript village in Odisha with less than 600 inhabitants and the nearest town 17 km away, sprinted into the country's imagination. Dutee Chand, a girl from a poverty-stricken family, had made headlines as the under-18 national 100 metres champion. She repeated her feat in the 100 as well as 200 metres-dash at the senior national championships in Ranchi. It was also the year she won bronze at the Asian athletics meet in Pune and made it to the finals at the World Youth Championships.
Dutee Chand competes in semi-final of women's 100m athletics event during the 2018 Asian Games (File Photo)