Negativity always gets me charged up: Dutee Chand

Sandip.Bal@timesgroup.com
Sprinter Dutee Chand recently won a gold medal in the 100-metre race of the 30th Summer University Games in Naples, Italy. She was the first female athlete from India to win gold at this event. Incidentally, it was her first gold medal in any international event. While she achieved a professional milestone, her family also stepped forward to celebrate her win. It came as a surprise to many people since they had distanced themselves from her after she declared that she is in a same-sex relationship. BT spoke to her over the phone. Excerpts…


I feel really happy. For me, after the Olympics, this is the next big world event. Also, this is my first-ever gold medal at an international event. I had never won gold at a global event before this. So, it’s a happy moment for me. Representing my university (KIIT University) at this international event was a great thing and emerging as the champion was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I don’t want to speak about my personal life or family. After winning the medal, I had written on Twitter: ‘Pull me back, I will come stronger’. That is all. Whenever there has been any negativity around me, I have emerged stronger. In 2014 too, I faced some personal issues and overcame those through willpower. The recent controversy involves my family and I don’t want to make these things public any more. This is a personal matter. They are my family. Anything I say on this topic, it gets bad publicity. Recently, I shared pics of my family celebrating my success at home on social media. I love my family. So, I don’t want to speak about this. Regarding coping with recent controversies, I always feel that whenever there is any kind of negativity, I get a boost from within myself. I always get charged up and try to give my best. Negative things make me stronger.

It’s a family matter and I was forced to come out in public to make things clear. But whenever I see any report on this issue in media, it no doubt affects me. I sometimes get carried away and say something. But I love my family and I know what they have gone through to make me who I am today.

I always take inspiration from the founder of our university, Achyut Samant sir, who always tells me to keep calm and stay focused. He always tells me not to dwell on negative things. He even told me not to always counter my family in public, because they are, after all, my family. That’s why I also dedicated my medal to him.

My two main events are the 100m and 200m races. Last time, I couldn’t make it past the first round in this event. After two years, I will be above 25 and can’t take part in this tournament’s next edition. So, I wanted to take part this year and win a medal. The gold came as a bonus. Where I used to practice in Hyderabad, the turf is getting deteriorated and that was making me slow. Since the turf at Kalinga Stadium here in Bhubaneswar is in good condition, I practised here. I focused solely on 100 metres. Winning a medal in 100m was my target. I had not practised well for 200m and that’s why I couldn’t win a medal in that race. My university took a lot of care of me for this win.

I concentrate on my sport and don’t miss anything. What I do like when I am away is that I don’t see any undue criticism targeting me there. There are people who don’t accept my achievements, but keep on spreading negative comments. There are people with vested interests who always spread such things. I am grateful that the state government has supported me in my preparation. After my win, I got the congratulatory wishes from top people in India and celebrities, which is a good thing.

There is the IAAF World Championships and the Olympics next year. My aim is to achieve a 11.15-second target. In the last Olympics, I had got a wild card, but this time I want to achieve it. It’s much faster than my national record of 11.24 seconds. But I’m trying hard to achieve it. If I get another one or two events in the next two-three months, I can clock that target. There is another event in Sweden next month and I’m hoping to take part in it. My mentors and I are trying for that.

People don’t understand the pain and agony of sportspersons. They just celebrate our wins and criticise us the moment we lose. Sometimes, I feel they shouldn’t praise us for our wins and criticise us later. For a sportsperson, defeat comes frequently while victory comes rarely. If I have won two medals out of, say, 30 events in a year, I have lost most events and learnt from all of them to win and make my mark. The same holds true for cricket and cricketers. People should accept losses gracefully.