New Delhi: National record holder in the 100 metres, sprinter Dutee Chand said Tuesday she is determined to further better her time in the event and achieve the qualification standard of 11.15 seconds for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
A fortnight after failing to qualify for the women’s 100m semifinals at the Doha World Championships, Dutee Chand completed a sprint double at the nationals, clocking the fastest 200m time by an Indian this year, with a 23.17second burst. The 23-year-old also shattered the 100m national record with a time of 11.22 seconds during the semifinals on way to the gold medal in Ranchi.
Dutee Chand attributed her success at the National Championships to her preparation for the Doha meet.
“I’m very happy to score my personal best in 100m at the National Championships. I broke the national record. I had worked really hard and I am happy that it bore fruit. Now my target is to score 11.15 which is the qualification standard for the Olympics,” Dutee told this agency.
“It is a matter of micro seconds. In 100m, the timings fluctuate. There are 6-7 months left in our hand for the Olympics. So my focus is entirely to qualify for the Tokyo Games. So I have to work hard to achieve that. This year’s competitions are over, so I’m waiting for next year’s international calendar to be announced,” added the sprinter.
Dutee is also extremely satisfied with her show in the 200m, but does not really stop there. “I’m also really happy with my performance in 200m, where I scored my personal best of 23.00 in Asian Games and here at the National open, I scored 23.17s. So overall my performance was good, but I can still improve,” said Dutee.
Dutee had a disappointing outing at the World Championships where she finished seventh in the heats. She clocked 11.48 seconds, well below her season-best which stands at 11.26s to finish in 37th place overall.
“My preparations for Doha World Championships were very good and that’s why I could do well at the nationals. I couldn’t do well at Doha because of the heat there. My body couldn’t adapt to the conditions,” Dutee pointed out.
PTI
