Police in India say they have formally charged gender row athlete Pinki Pramanik with rape, after a complaint by a live-in partner.

They say medical tests also confirm the athlete is male - earlier tests had proved inconclusive.

Pramanik maintains she is female and the case against her is "a conspiracy".

The runner, who was arrested in June and freed on bail a month later, won a number of medals for India six years ago, including four golds.

"The medical report of Pinki Pramanik suggests that the athlete is male," police said in a chargesheet submitted in court in the town of Barasat in West Bengal state.

They said the athlete is also charged with cheating and threatening her then partner, a woman.

Pramanik's lawyers have denied the rape charges.