 Talk about bizarre. An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal. Shanti Soundarajan, 25, took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second on Dec. 9. Santhi won the silver in the women’s 800m event after clocking 2 minutes, 3.16 seconds behind Mariam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain. Indian officials who went to Doha came to know that she had failed the gender test immediately after the 800m race but remained tightlipped.
After she failed the gender test, Santhi was withdrawn from the final day of the athletics program and was replaced by O. P. Jaisha. Unfortunately Jaisha tripped and fell around the 200m mark and withdrew from the race.
The Indian Olympic Association said it has been told by the Olympic Council of Asia that the 25-year-old runner was disqualified. "IOA has asked the Athletic Federation of India to return the medal as desired by the Olympic Council of Asia," the Indian Olympic group said. There are no compulsory gender tests during events sanctioned by track and field's international ruling body, but athletes may be asked to take a gender test. The medical evaluation panel usually includes a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist and internal medicine specialist. All these examinations are done along with other tests if necessary before the final decision was placed before the proper authorities. An Indian athletics official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Soundarajan almost certainly never had sex-change surgery. Instead, the official said Soundarajan appeared to have "abnormal chromosomes." The official also said the test revealed more Y-chromosomes than allowed. Since the OCA was in the process of informing the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) of its decision to strip the woman athlete from Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, Santhi, after receiving the award, said that she still considered herself the silver medal-winner in the 800-meter event. “I have received no official communication so far from authorities of the Asian Games,” said Santhi. The Tamil Nadu Government however, decided to award Santhi the prizes associated with her win. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, awarded a television set and the prize money to Santhi. He said that he awarded the TV set since Santhi’s parents had said that they could not witness the victory of their daughter as they did not possess a television set. Although the gesture seems well intended it may also be fruitless since Santhi will no doubt be permanently replaced on the team.  Until next time!
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