On 9 October 2001,[1] Pratima Gaonkar, a young Indian intersex athlete and swimmer, was found dead in a well in Goa. The cause was identified as death by suicide; this was in turn was caused by Gaonkar's reaction to the disclosure and public commentary surrounding a failed sex verification test.[2][3][4] Gaonkar was reportedly the subject of blackmail attempts, including an accusation by her mother that her coach was accusing her.[5]
Originally from the village of Sadgal, Goa,[2] three months prior to her death she won silver medal in the 4×400 relay in the Junior Asian Athletics Championships in Brunei.[2][6] She had previously broken all the Goan state-level records for her discipline.[3]
In the aftermath of her death, media attention and reportage was invasive, with a press conference discussing her body in detail.[7][8] The public discourse which surrounded her death as an intersex athlete has led to comparisons with Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Goa News |Mystery of Pratima's suicide (By: SANDESH PRABHUDESAI, PANAJI)". 2022-01-21. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ a b c Koshie, Nihal (9 September 2018). "The rising star who ended her life much before Dutee Chand challenged the rules". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ a b Nagvenkar, Mayabhushan (21 July 2012). "Goa's Pinki Pramanik". Newslaundry. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ Posbergh, Anna (2019-08-12). "Same Tricks, New Name: The IAAF's New 2018 Testosterone Regulation Policy for Female Athletes". The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion. 3 (3). doi:10.33137/ijidi.v3i3.32965. ISSN 2574-3430.
- ^ Broadbent, Rick. "IAAF must let Caster Semenya run". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Pratima GAONKAR | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
- ^ Dohle, Max (2020-06-19). "They say I'm not a girl": Case Studies of Gender Verification in Elite Sports. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3701-3.
- ^ Behind the News: Voices from Goa's Press. Goa1556. 2008. ISBN 978-81-905682-0-3.
- ^ "5 Female Athletes Around The World Who Have Been Subjected To Gender & Sex Tests". ScoopWhoop. 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2022-11-06.