Two national records for sprinter Dutee Chand

BHUBANESWAR: INDIA'S ace sprinter Dutee Chand added yet another feather in her cap on Monday as she broke her previous national record by clocking 11.17 seconds in women's 100m dash at the Indian Grand Prix 4 in Patiala.

She, however, fell agonisingly short of Tokyo Olympic qualification mark, which is 11.15 seconds.

The 25-year-old athlete from Odisha can still make it to the mega event through her ranking which is 42 on the Road to Tokyo list. The top 56 qualify for the Games.

"I am extremely happy with my performance today (Monday) as I broke my own national record", said Dutee Chand. Despite missing out on the Olympic qualification mark by a whisker, Dutee is confident of making the Olympic cut in the upcoming inter-state nationals, which is scheduled from June 25 to 29.

"Though I missed the qualification mark, I am happy with my preparations. As of now, I am the fastest Indian sprinter this year. I will put my best foot forward in the forthcoming inter-state senior national athletics championships to achieve my Olympic goals," she added.

She along with Hima Das, S Dhanalakshmi and Archana Suseendran also bettered the previous national record in 4x100m. The quartet clocked 43.37 seconds. However, they needed to clock 43.05 seconds to be in the top 16 teams on the Road to Tokyo list.