For sprinter Dutee Chand, the focus now shifts to qualifying for the World Championship this September in Qatar and for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
The qualifying mark for the World championship is 11.24s, and 11.15s for the Olympics.
Beating the heat at the GMC Balayogi Stadium here under the guidance of her mentor-cum-coach N. Ramesh (SAI athletics coach), the 23-year-old is now gunning to clock below 11.15s in 100m in next month’s World University Games in Italy.
“Yes, the qualifying cycle for the Worlds has begun this month and will end in August. So, she is determined to meet the qualifying mark,” says Ramesh.
“With experience, she is a much more polished and feared runner in the circuit. From start to finish, there is a perfect blend of great poise and power,” he explains.
“Dutee, silver medallist in 100m and 200m in the last Asiad and a bronze medallist (200m) in the recent Asian championship, will be pushing herself in 200m so as to make her more comfortable in 100m,” says Ramesh.
“All this would not have been possible if not for the support of the AFI and the free boarding facility given at Gopi Chand Academy by [chief national badminton coach P. Gopi Chand] in 2014 when IAAF slapped a ban on her on grounds of hyperandrogenism.
“That was the most critical phase when she was staring at the dead-end of her career.”
“Gulf nations hiring African athletes may deny Indians some medal chances, but I look at the kind of confidence we get if we beat them consistently as we look ahead,” feels Ramesh.
What exactly does Dutee need now to win a medal in Worlds or Olympics? “The training part has been pretty good. She badly needs exposure to international events and competing with those who clock around 11.00s in 100m,” says the coach.
On her part, Dutee asserts that she continues to chase the dream of winning a medal in Worlds and Olympics.