Hyderabad: Ace sprinter Dutee Chand, who is the first Indian athlete to come out of the closet, revealed that she was blackmailed and tortured by her eldest sister, which ultimately pushed the sprinter to speak up about her same-sex relationship.
Although Chand drew plaudits for stepping up, the backlash from her family was consistent.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, India’s LGBT trailblazer Dutee Chand opened up about her struggles with her game, sexuality, and much more.
Dutee, who bagged two silver medals in 2018 Asian Games, openly accepted her sexuality last year when she revealed that she is in a same-sex relationship with a girl from her hometown Chaka Gopalpur in Odisha.
Also Read: Part one of the interview.
Here are the excerpts of the interview.
How has been your lockdown period?
It is going well. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was always travelling from one state to another to participate in different events, due to which I never had time to be with my family. But lockdown, due to which all the sporting events across the globe has either been suspended or postponed, has been a blessing in disguise for me as I am now able to spend time with them.
How did people react after you came out as homosexual?
For me it is love. People call it by different names. But for me, I just fell in love with one of my friends. I never told anybody that I want to live with her or marry her. I just told my family that I like her and in future, I will not get married but rather live with her. My mom told me that you are a big girl and can make your own decisions. And everything was okay and at that time, I was not even aware of any homosexual terms - gay or lesbian.
But after I won the silver medal in Asian Games for which the government awarded me with Rs 3 crores, my eldest sister's behaviour towards me changed completely. She started asking me for money. She used to tell me if you will not do as I say, I will tell the media about you and make your life miserable.
At the beginning, I did what she said as I was afraid of the threats that I got from her. But after some time, I realised that I can’t handle this torture anymore and decided to come out to public.
After I revealed that I am homosexual, people started bashing me, but when international star like Ellen DeGeneres came to my support and when even Bollywood actors started raising their voice in my support, people's behaviour changed towards me.
I don't even know how long this relationship will last. But as long as we like each other we will be together. I will never force my partner to live with me.
