Controversy over the gender of a medalist at the Asian Games
A female heptathlete competing in this year's Asian Games has refuted allegations of being transgender following public accusations from a rival athlete.
Nandini Agasara, a 20-year-old pro athlete, took home a bronze medal for India in the women's heptathlon on Sunday after scoring 5,712 points.
Another heptathlete, 26-year-old Swapna Barman, who came in fourth place scoring 5,708 points, seemingly accused Asagara of being transgender in a now-deleted social media post.
"I have lost my Asian Games bronze medal to a transgender woman at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China," Barman wrote in a since-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter. "I want my medal back as it is against the rules of our Athletics. Help me and support me,
please. #protestforfairplay."
In response, Agasara refuted the allegation by affirming her identity and challenging Barman to "show proof" otherwise.
Agasara said that she plans to take up the issue with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the national governing body for athletic sports in India.
"I know what I am. Ask her to show proof. I will also show that I have won the medal for India. I only want to do well for the country. Now we have won, so people have started talking about it. I will take up this issue with AFI for sure. I wanted to enjoy the moment of winning the medal but going back to India as my mother is not well," Agasara told India Today.
While the post did not directly name Asagara as the target of the allegations, Barman told India Today that she thought that Agasara would not compete in the Asian Games and that her four months of preparation wasn't enough to win.
"One thing is that I have been practicing for 13 years, I have learned how much performance I have achieved by practicing a lot. It is not possible to achieve such performance in four months, everyone knows it, you must also know it," Barman said.
Asagara'sbronze medal marks her second international medal, having taken home a silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022.
The incident comes after World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field and other running sports, banned transgender women who began transitioning after puberty from its women's events earlier this year.
Despite the controversy, Asagara's victory has been celebrated in her own country.
"India celebrates the phenomenal Bronze Medal by @AgasaraNandini in Women's Heptathlon 800m event. She is an absolute champion, personifying sporting spirit and excellence. Congrats to her and all the best for the endeavors ahead," Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
