Chennai: Athlete Santhi Soundarajan, who failed a gender test in 2006 Doha Asiad that led to her being stripped of a silver medal, today attempted suicide by allegedly consuming "veterinary medicines". Pudukkotai District Superintendent of Police Kapil Kumar C Saratkar said that according to doctors Santhi had consumed some "veterinary medicines." Santhi, who was admitted to a hospital in Pudukottai, was later shifted to the Thanjavur Government Medical College hospital. She is out of danger and no police case has been registered, hospital sources said.

Police in Thanjavur said Santhi was driven by "lack of recognition" and controversies surrounding her gender after returning the women's 800m silver at Doha, which also resulted in "unemployment and lack of support from the government". Family sources said that Santhi had consumed pesticide this morning when she was undergoing physical training at Pudukottai.

She developed giddiness and vomitted after which her friends took her to hospital, they said. Santhi was in a state of frustration in the last few days, her friends and relatives said, adding she was not attending training sessions regularly. She had returned to her native place in Kathakurichi only on Tuesday from Chennai where she is studying, they said.

Santhi, who hails from Kathakurichi village in Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu, had also won the 1,500m gold and the 800m silver in South Asian Games in Colombo in August last year. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had awarded Santhi a cash prize for her Doha Games effort in January 2007. (PTI)