06 May,2019 07:37 AM IST | | A Correspondent
Caster Semenya
A day after winning gold in the 800m race at the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar, South African athlete Caster Semenya thrilled Indian followers with a Twitter message in Punjabi.
"Enna sona kyu rab ne banaya [why has God made you so beautiful]," Semenya tweeted to her 235,000 Twitter followers. Semenya has been in the news after the two-time Olympic champion lost her legal challenge against the International Athletics Association's controversial rule regulating testosterone levels for women. Though it was reported that Semenya's social media accounts may have been hacked, her tweet was welcomed by her Indian followers. "Haha that's a wonderful song search for it," wrote one Twitter user named Swapnil Verma.
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Caster Semenya won the 800 metres at the Doha Diamond League meeting on Friday in her first race since losing her appeal over a controversial gender ruling, claiming "actions speak louder than words".
The South African, a two-time Olympic champion, timed 1min 54.98sec to defeat Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba, who clocked 1min 57.75sec and Ajee Wilson of the United States in 1min 58.83sec. Semenya's victory could be her last over 800m with new IAAF rules governing testosterone levels coming into operation on May 8. Asked if she intended to take hormone-suppressing treatment, she said: "Hell no. No way. "I don't know what will happen next. But no-one should tell me what to do, if people want to stop me from doing something that's their problem, not mine." After setting a new meet record, she told the BBC: "Actions speak louder than words. When you're a great champion you always deliver.
"With me, life has been simple. I'm just here to deliver for the people who love and support me. I'm enjoying each and every moment of my life maybe because I have the love I need from my people." Semenya, 28, was only added to the 800m start list in Doha on Thursday morning, a day after her appeal against a new rule regulating testosterone levels for women athletes was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She had challenged the measures, introduced by the IAAF, that will force women with higher than normal male hormone levels -- so-called "hyperandrogenic" athletes -- to artificially lower the amount of testosterone in their bodies if they are to continue competing.
The rules will come into effect next Wednesday and will apply to athletes competing in races over distances of 400m to the mile. Semenya hinted at quitting the sport in a tweet Thursday, saying: "Knowing when to walk away is wisdom. Being able to is courage. Walking away with your head held high is dignity." After her win on Friday -- in the same city where she hopes to feature in September's world championships -- Semenya said she was fighting a bigger battle beyond the track.- 'About human dignity, human pride' -
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