Picture Credit: Twitter
India’s Swapna Barma made a scathing attack on compatriot and fellow athlete Nandini Agasara after the latter went on to win bronze in women’s heptathlon on Sunday, October 1 at the ongoing Asian Games 2023. The 2018 gold medallist in Jakarta, in a social media post hit out at her compatriot, Nandini calling her a “transgender women”.
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The 26-year-old fell short by only four points with Nandini taking the bronze medal with a score of 5712 points on Sunday at the Games in Hangzhou. However, this did not go well with Swapna, who missed a medal by a whisker and took to the micro-blogging site (X) hitting out at Nandini. “I have lost my Asian Games bronze medal to a transgender women at the 19 th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China. I want my medal back as it is against the rules of our Athletics. Help me and support please,” she wrote.
However, the tweet now remains deleted but has since then gone viral across platforms. It is to be noted that according to the latest rules by World Athletics, the governing body has banned transgender women from competing in female categories in any international event.
Nandini Agasara refutes allegations; puts out strong statement
The Asian Games 2023 bronze medallist however refuted the allegations made by fellow Indian athlete. The 20-year-old athlete from Telengana expressed disappointment over the controversy and put out a strong statement challenging Swapna Barman.
“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 the 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,” Nandini told India Today post her bronze medal victory at the Asian Games.
