Dutee Chand is the digital cover star of Cosmopolitan India’s July issue. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)In May, sprinter Dutee Chand became the first Indian sports star to acknowledge she was in a same-sex relationship. The 100-m national record holder and winner of two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games said she had spoken about her own same-sex relationship after the Supreme Court’s historic decision to decriminalise Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code last year. And now she’s on the cover of the digital edition of fashion magazine Cosmopolitan India for the July issue.
Styled by Zunaili Malik, Chand is wearing a Superdry sports bra, a pair of shorts from Fila and a cape by Namrata Joshipura that has all the colours of the rainbow flag.
The hair and make-up by Maniasha were minimal in nature, with just a touch of highlighter on the athlete’s cheeks.
Chand had received praise and support from India and abroad for speaking about being in same-sex relationship.
She is not the first Indian woman sports star to appear on the cover of a magazine. In 2016, badminton champ PV Sindhu made jaws drop with her photo shoot for women’s magazine, Just for Women (JFW).
P V Sindhu on the cover of JFW magazine. (Source: JFW magazine)ALSO READ | Homophobia runs deep, not many from sport have backed Dutee Chand
The athlete was seen wearing a cut-out grey lace dress with nude pumps. The make-up was on point too with just a hint of dewy sheen, and smokey eyes in shades of burgundy. But more than anything else, it was her 100-watt smile that made it picture perfect.
