There has been controversy at the Asian Games this week after Nandini Agasara won a bronze medal for India.
The 20-year-old secured the prize in the women's heptathalon after scoring 5712 points in the event.
However, since then, there have been unfounded allegations over Agasara and her gender.
Earlier this week, Swapna Barman - who also competed for India - made the accusation in a now-deleted post on social media.
Trans news: Swapna Barman made the allegation about compatriot Nandini Agasara
GETTY
"I have lost my Asian Games bronze medal to transgender women at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China," she said on X.
"I want my medal back as it is against the rules of our athletics.
"Help me and support me please. #protestforfairplay."
Now, however, Agasara's parents have set the record straight and insisted their daughter is 100 per cent a biological woman.
Her father, Yallappa, told the Daily Mail: "I don’t understand why anybody would say that Nandini is transgender.
"She is 100 per cent a woman, and that’s the end of the matter. Anybody questioning her gender is speaking rubbish.
"We are very proud of her sporting achievements and this allegation is just about her rivals being jealous.
"We are only focusing on the positive and are celebrating her medal.
"We are very proud of our girl and what she’s achieved."
He then claimed his daughter had inherited his strength, adding: "We are from a very poor family and life has always been very hard for us.
"Since she was a child, Nandini has been working alongside her mother as a maid, lifting heavy things, washing clothes and doing a lot of physical work. It’s made her big and strong.
"I’m also quite muscular and big and she’s inherited those genes from me.
"But she’s still a woman, she looks like a woman and the world knows that she’s a woman."
Agasara's mother, Ayyamma, is also furious.
"We don’t have time for such nonsense about Nandini being transgender," she told the publication.
"I don’t understand why people would say such things.
"It’s a huge thing what she’s achieved, and we are just focused on that.
"It’s very sad that people are saying such things because life for all of us has been a struggle and this is getting overlooked by this allegation."
As for Agasara herself, she's hit back at the comments made by her compatriot and believes it stems from jealousy.
"You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. You shouldn’t judge a person by their looks," she said.
"I played with dolls when I was a girl and I wear saris and other traditional Indian female clothes when I attend weddings or religious occasions.
"I am tall and strong compared to many women but that’s because of all the physical work that I’ve had to do throughout my life to help my family.
"When poor people achieve anything then there is always a lot of jealousy, and somebody will try to pull you down.
"That’s what this allegation is all about but I’m not focusing on it too much.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Trans news: Nandini Agasara denies the allegations
GETTY
"I used to go to bed on an empty stomach and we could go two or three days without eating.
"People don’t realise the struggles that our whole family has gone through.
"I come from nothing and to go and win a medal at a major international sporting event is no small matter.
"My mother and father have been working since they were aged 10 and I’ve inherited my hard work ethic from them.
"Just because I’ve got a bronze medal now, that won’t change.
"When you’ve lived my life and had to do a lot of physical work because of poverty, it makes you big and strong.
"It doesn’t mean you’re any less a woman."
