Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 11: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Orissa sprinter Dutee Chand proved this saying true as she blazed to glory to win gold in the 100 metres sprint here Wednesday and emerge the fastest woman in the country.
Still worried by the CAS verdict in March which will decide her international future, the sprightly Dutee broke her own meet record (11.83 seconds) set Tuesday to bag the yellow metal in 11.76 seconds.
It turned out to be a good day for Orissa as Amiya Mallick (10.64 seconds) bagged the silver medal in the men’s 100 metres finishing behind Haryana’s Dharambir Singh (10.52 seconds). Dharmbir’s time was another new meet record.
Dutee ran a very fast race to get past Kerala’s Santhini Vallikkad (11.84s) and Maharashtra’s Rashmi Sheregar (11.87s). “The weather here has been really fantastic here and that has really helped me,” stated Dutee after her race. “Even though my personal best is 11.73 seconds, I am happy that I have been able to come close to it, because the last few months have been very problematic for my athletics career,” stated Dutee. It was clear that she was referring to the controversial gender test that she had to go through.
Later talking over the phone Wednesday evening from Thiruvananthapuram, the Jajpur-based lass stated that she is happy, but then her voice was bereft of emotions. “I may have won a gold here, but I am still very tense as to what fate holds for me,” stated Dutee. “I am working, training, running etc…, but then ‘mere mind aur dil mein ek ajeeb si daar hai (a strange fear has affected my mind and heart). I am just hoping that 2015 works out well for me. I went through pretty bad times in 2014,” she added.
But then did she expect to win gold at the National Games keeping in mind that this was her first national-level meet in eight-nine months. “Usually, I am a very positive person,” stated Dutee. “But this time around, to tell you frankly, my main aim was to achieve a good time. I had told you earlier that I wasn’t expecting gold or for that any medal. That I have gone close to my personal best without sustained training, makes me happy. But I will really celebrate when the CAS verdict is out in March,” she added.
Dutee indicated that even though she has not made up her mind about running the 200 metres, she would certainly run the 4×100 metres relay. “Let’s see how my body reacts in the next 24 hours and then I will take a call on the 200 metres,” she informed.
