Our daughter is 100% FEMALE: Parents of Indian athlete accused of transgender claims by jealous rival who lost her place on the podium

The parents of a female athlete accused of being transgender have insisted she is ‘100% woman’ – and say the claims are not fueled by a jealous rival.

Nandini Agasara, a 20-year-old professional athlete, took home a bronze medal for India at this year’s Asian Games in the women’s heptathlon earlier this week after scoring 5,712 points in the grueling event, setting off a major controversy over the gender of her.

Her victory was marred by a rival, 26-year-old Swapna Barman, who also competed for India but narrowly missed out on a podium position, apparently accusing Nandini of being transgender in a since-deleted social media post.

Barman, who won gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, said in her post on X, formerly Twitter: “I lost my Asian Games bronze medal to the transgender women at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou. , China”.

The allegation has once again brought the issue of transgender athletes into focus with Nandini’s proud parents calling her a ‘lie’, while claiming she was born female and has remained so her entire life.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, her father Yallappa, 40, said: ‘I don’t understand why anyone would say that Nandini is transgender. She is 100% a woman and that is the end of the matter. Anyone who questions her gender is talking nonsense.

“We are very proud of her sporting achievements and this claim is only about the jealousy of her rivals. We are only focusing on the positives and celebrating her medal. We are very proud of our daughter and what she has achieved.’

Nandini’s mother Ayyamma, 35, said, “We have no time for such nonsense that Nandini is transgender. I don’t understand why people say such things. It is a great thing that she has achieved, and we are only focused on that.

“It’s very sad that people say things like that because life for all of us has been a struggle and that’s being glossed over by this claim.”

Mr Agasara claimed that Nandini, 20, had inherited her muscular physique from him and was also physically strong due to her poor family background, resulting in her having to work since she was a child to help them. to make ends meet.

He runs a tea shop in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, earning around £120 a month. His wife works as a domestic servant, earning around £300 a month.

The couple lives in a small one-bedroom house in a poor part of town with Nandini and her two brothers.

Agasara said: “We are from a very poor family and life has always been very difficult for us. As a child, Nandini works alongside her mother as a servant, lifts heavy things, washes clothes and does a lot of physical work. He made it big and strong.

“I’m also quite muscular and big and she inherited those genes from me. But she is still a woman, she looks like a woman and the world knows she is a woman.

Nandini returned from China to her home in Hyderabad on Tuesday, where a party was held in her honor with friends and family placing wreaths around her and presenting the athlete with a specially baked cake.

She told MailOnline: ‘You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. You should not judge a person by his appearance.

“I played with dolls as a girl and wear saris and other traditional Indian women’s clothing when I attend weddings or religious occasions. I’m tall and strong compared to many women, but that’s because of all the physical work I’ve had to do all my life to support my family.

“When poor people achieve something, there is always a lot of jealousy and someone will try to bring you down. That’s what this claim is about, but I’m not focusing too much on it.’

Recalling her poor childhood, Nandini cried: ‘I used to go to bed on an empty stomach and we could go two or three days without eating. People don’t understand the hardships our whole family has gone through.

“I come from nothing and to go and win a medal at a major international sporting event is no small matter.”

Nandini revealed that even though she was training as a professional athlete, she was still working alongside her mother as a maid and that this will continue even though she managed to mark her place in India after her podium finish.

She added: “My mum and dad worked from the age of 10 and I inherited my hard work ethic from them. Just because I got a bronze medal now, that’s not going to change.

“When you’ve lived my life and had to do a lot of manual labor because of poverty, it makes you big and strong. It doesn’t mean you’re any less of a woman.’

Despite the furore, Asagara’s victory was celebrated by big figures, including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wrote on X, sometime on Twitter: ‘India celebrates Nandini Agasara’s phenomenal bronze medal in the Women’s 800m Heptathlon.

“She is an absolute champion, personifying sportsmanship and excellence. Congratulations to him and all the best for his future endeavours.’

Nandini came to athletics relatively late after being spotted by a local sports coach at the age of 14 and was subsequently awarded a scholarship to a school where she was able to combine academic studies with coaching.

The Asian Games bronze is her second international medal, after picking up a silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 World U20 Athletics Championships.

She has also won several national medals in India, taking home two silver medals in two years, once in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 Indian National Open Athletics Championships and the 2021 National Interstate Athletics Senior Championships .

The furious row comes amid a global backlash against transgender athletes, as governing bodies around the world ban them from competing as the gender they identify with.

Earlier this year, transgender women were banned from competing in the women’s category at international athletics events.

The decision was made by World Athletics in order to ‘prioritise the fairness and integrity of women’s competition before inclusion’.

Regarding the new rules for transgender participation, Sebastian Coe, president of the governing body, said: “The World Athletics Council has taken decisive action to protect the female category in our sport.

“The decision taken by the council is primarily a decision based on principles and this is the comprehensive need to protect the category of women. That’s what our sport is here to do.’

Athletics was not the only sport to ban transgender women from competing in women’s events, as in July, cycling’s world governing body banned them from competing in international competitions.

The old policy under the Union Cycliste Internationale allowed trans women to compete in women’s races if they had testosterone levels of less than 2.5 nanomoles per liter.

But the policy was criticized after American cyclist Austin Killips won the Tour of the Gila a full five minutes ahead of the runner-up.