Indian Sprinter Dutee Chand Unfurls Pride Flag At Commonwealth Games

In a revolutionary act of call for acceptance, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who is India’s first openly gay athlete, held the LGBTQIA+ flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. And she was not alone but accompanied by six other queer athletes and activists.

Taking to the social media, British diver Tom Daley shared a picture of the seven LGBTQ+ athletes and activists from different countries who unfurled the flag. He mentioned in his post that homosexuality is still a crime in over half of the Commonwealth countries of which in three, the maximum penalty is death sentence.

“These laws are a legacy of colonialism. This opening ceremony for us is about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion people watching,” wrote the diver who identifies himself as gay giving a shout-out to the other six people who held the flag with him.

About Dutee Chand

Dutee Chand is the first openly gay athlete from the Indian national team. She revealed her sexuality in 2019 and has been advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community ever since. With this, she has become a flag bearer for those who lived inside the closet and feared disclosing their true identity to the world.

Besides Dutee, the others who were seen holding the pride flag proudly were- Bisi Alimi (Executive Director of the Bisi Alimi Foundation in Nigeria), Glenroy Murray (Executive Director of J-FLAG in Jamaica), Moud Goba (National Manager at Micro Rainbow in Zimbabwe), Jason Jones (LGBTQ+ advocate from Trinidad and Tobago) and Prossy Kakooza (LGTBQ+ activist and human rights defender from Uganda).

Chand will be participating in the 4x100m relay along with Hima Das, Srabani Nanda and NS Simi in this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Commonwealth Games 2022

The Commonwealth Games 2022 is being held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It started on July 28 and will continue till August 8.

India opened its medal account at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with 21-year-old weightlifter Sanket Mahadev Sargar claiming a silver in the men’s 55 kg category. This was followed by fellow lifter Gururaja Poojary, the silver medallist in the last edition (56 kg), took the bronze in men’s 61 kg.

But the biggest win so far has been that of Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who shattered Commonwealth Games records to win India’s first gold medal. Later, Tokyo Olympic Games medallist Lovlina Borgohain (boxing) started her campaign with a 5-0 win. Bindyarani Sorokhaibam went on to win India’s fourth medal of the day in the women’s 55 kg weightlifting. Jeremy Lalrinnunga wins India’s second gold medal in the men’s 67kg final. The women’s hockey team also won.

With a huge 205-member contingent that will compete in 15 different sports, India is a major medal contender for gold across the board in the mega multi-sport event.

Also read: Dutee Chand – Meet The Woman Behind The Athlete And The 2020 Arjuna Award Winner