An Indian sprinter who made strides for women with excessive amounts of male sex hormones, is making strides in the athletics world over testing she deemed as unfair.

Last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed with Indian athlete Dutee Chand's contention that hormone testing for females was discriminatory and ineffective.

It suspended the tests, allowing Chand and other "hyperandrogenic" athletes, including South African Caster Semenya, to compete.

Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterised by excessive levels of androgens (the male sex hormone) in the body. It is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive-age and a majority of patients also have polycystic ovary syndrome.

But not everyone was happy with the court's decision.

The long road to Rio

Dutee Chand has endured a long road to make it to the Rio Olympics. ( ABC News: James Bennett )

On a monsoonal morning in the city of Hyderabad, diminutive sprinter Chand is running through a series of strength and speed drills.

It is less than two weeks before she will leave for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 20-year-old's path from rural Odisha in eastern India, to Rio, has been a tale within itself.

"When I started running, I didn't have a tracksuit, I didn't have proper shoes and I used to run barefoot during practice," she told the ABC.

"But the biggest obstacle I faced was in 2014 when I was asked to perform a gender test.

"I didn't know what was happening.

"I thought they were performing tests because maybe I was sick."

The woman who became Chand's Government-appointed advocate, gender expert Dr Payoshni Mitra, said the incident was a poorly handled spectacle.

"She was … given two options: one you can quit sport, and two, you can change your body, take medical steps."

Chand challenged the system and took the matter to court.

"I was born a woman and raised a woman, why should I change?" she said.

Where to draw the line?

Chand says she's happy her victory will help other women in a similar situation to compete. ( ABC News: James Bennett )

The issue has long plagued sports administrators.

From 2011 until last year, athletics officials and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed females producing testosterone at close to male levels "hyperandrogenic".

The regulations then demanded they undergo hormone therapy or even surgery, before they could compete.

Dr Mitra helped get Chand's case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing it was unfair to solely focus on one trait — testosterone production.

The CAS agreed. Its ruling stated: "There is presently insufficient evidence about the degree of the advantage that androgen-sensitive hyperandrogenic females enjoy".

The court shelved the regulations, meaning Chand and others previously suspended or required to undergo treatment are now free to compete without any therapy.

Semenya's resurgence already has people talking

South African athlete Caster Semenya's performance on the track initially suffered after her corrective therapy. ( Reuters: Dylan Martinez )

South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya was one athlete who had been ordered to undergo corrective therapy in 2009.

The details of her treatment remain confidential, but when she resumed competition in 2010, her performances suffered.

However, since Chand's ruling forced the system's shelving, her times have improved significantly, and she is now widely considered to be within striking distance of the longstanding 800-metre world record.

That does not please some athletes, who argue hormone testing was a reasonable, and ethical, way to level the playing field.

British marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe said last week Semenya's victory in the 800 metres at Rio seems so assured that "it was no longer sport".

"I fear that when we talk about it in terms of 'fully expect no other result than Caster Semenya to win that 800 metres', then its no longer sport and its no longer an open race," Radcliffe told BBC radio.

Chand 'happy to help other women'

Chand said she was ecstatic that her victory would help other women in her situation also compete.

"I am very proud about the judgement," she said.

"So many athletes have had to forgo this sport because of this reason.

"I am happy that not only me, but also other athletes can compete because of this ruling."

Chand will be the first Indian woman to race the 100 metres since 1980.

She was coy about her prospects, but knows she would need to better her qualifying time of 11.24 seconds, if she was to make the final.

Meanwhile, discussion on the issue at the centre of her games appearance has a lot longer to run.

In its ruling last July, the Court of Arbitration for Sport gave the IOC and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) two years to show why the hyperandrogenism regulations suspended in Chand's case should be reinstated.

If the governing bodies cannot demonstrate enough evidence to support them, they will be permanently scrapped, but the issue of how to treat intersex athletes will most certainly remain.