Swapna Barman saying 'transwoman' Nandini Asagara stole her medal seems a case of sour grapes. What do rules say?

Indian heptathlon athlete Swapna Barman, after being pushed to the fourth spot by another Indian athlete, Nandini Agasara, alleged that she was robbed of her bronze medal by a "transgender woman" at the 2023 ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

To Barman's allegations, 20-year-old Nandini refuted the allegations, asserting her identity as a woman and expressing disappointment over what happened.

What happened?

• Barman through a X (formerly Twitter) post, after Agasara won the bronze medal, hinted that Agasara might be transgender, which the Bengal athlete later deleted.

• The accusation triggered a significant controversy within the sports community, as she questioned the legitimacy of Agasara's participation in women's events.
• The allegations related to transgender athletes' participation in women's events in athletics and other sports, for a long time, have been a topic of intense debate and scrutiny. However, the timing of the allegations levelled against her compatriot did not go down well, with many accusing Barman of crying foul and maligning India's Image on the world stage.

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The recent incident, however, has reignited the discussion regarding the same, and to shed light on this issue, we need to have a look at the existing rules and provisions set by governing bodies, particularly World Athletics, regarding the participation of Trans athletes competing alongside women.

World Athletics' stance

• World Athletics (WA), the governing body for track and field competitions, introduced a policy, earlier this year (2023) to address the discrepancies regarding participation of transgender women in women's events.
• This policy, which came into effect on March 31, 2023, prohibits transgender women who have undergone male puberty from competing in women's competitions at international events.
• To be eligible to compete as women, athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) must maintain a testosterone level below 2.5 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) for at least 24 months before any international competition.
• Similarly, other sports as well, on an individual level are looking and some of them, including, World Rugby and World Swimming, have already chalked out policies relating to the same, whereas others are yet to.
• A working group was also said to be formed to communicate with transgender athletes and review incoming new research, hinting at the open scope of discussions in the future.

Why the segregation?

• One of the main issues in this debate evolved because of little research on transgender athletes, and existing studies not providing enough conclusive evidence to formulate policy, is: whether transgender women athletes possess a physiological advantage over cisgender (a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth) women
• Research also shows that while muscle mass might remain high in trans women after transitioning, their haemoglobin levels, a key factor in athletic performance, were comparable to those of cisgender women.
• The review suggested that the evidence is not clear-cut and supported the notion that there might not be an inherent advantage for transgender athletes.

Impact of the ban

• By barring them outrightly, these policies might potentially impact transgender athletes' careers and the research conducted in this area.
• There is also a concern as there would be fewer studies on them, which could, in turn, hamper efforts to gather data and guide future policies.

However, the International Olympic Committee has a more inclusive approach, asserting that athletes should not be excluded based on perceived competitive advantages due to sex variations.

While World Athletics has introduced stringent policies to maintain fairness and integrity, the scientific community is divided on whether transgender women athletes truly have a physical advantage.

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