It was only in May earlier this year that Dutee Chand bravely accepted being in a same sex relationship. The entire sporting community of India was in a state of shock after her confession and criticised her for losing focus, and diverting from her real aim — running sprints.
In just two months, Dutee has become the toast of the nation by becoming the first ever Indian to win the 100m gold in the ongoing 30th Summer University Games in Napoli, Italy.
And she knows why this is so special.
“Pull me down, I will come back stronger!,” the message that Dutee posted on her social media account was enough to judge her emotions.
“With years of hard work and your blessings, I have yet again broken the record by winning the Gold in the 100m dash in 11.32 seconds at The World University Games, Napoli,” the winner of two Asian Games silver medals and whose 100m record still stands at 11.24 seconds went on to add in her next tweet.
Just before boarding a flight to Italy, Dutee admitted that it was not easy for her to train properly because of the way world has reacted to her same-sex relationship. “My training was disturbed for initial 15 days or so after my admission. My sister gave me a lot of stress. But now, I’m trying to forget everything,” Dutee said then.
Having conquered the tracks once again, India’s top female sprinter posted: “This is my personal matter. I am sure everything will be fine in a month or two. On the international level, there are several athletes (who are in a same-sex relationship). To live, everybody needs a partner who understands your heart. We like each other so we decided to live together. She gives me motivation for my sport. My focus on sports will be intact.” Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Ponte finished behind Dutee with a time of 11.33 seconds.
Earlier on Tuesday, Dutee created a record by becoming the first ever Indian sprinter to qualify for finals with a time 11.41 seconds. While on Monday, she won the heats in 11.58 seconds to move into the semifinals.
With this feat, Dutee has become only the second Indian sprinter to win gold at a global event. Assam’s Hima Das was the only one earlier to have won gold in the World Junior Athletics Championships last year.
Dutee next big target is to do well at the World Championships in Doha later this year. More so because she clocked her season’s best time of 11.26 secs in Doha in April 2019. “Problem will come and go in future, nobody can take guarantee of that. But I think there won’t be any problem. If it won’t happen, I’ll be able to focus more on my training. My focus is on Olympics 2020 (to be held in Tokyo). I am training to qualify and participate in the Olympics,” she said after her victory.
Before Dutee, shot putter Inderjeet Singh was the only one in recent years to have won the gold in 2015 edition. Whereas, India grabbed a silver each in 2013 and 2017.