Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Despite a stellar show in the Indian Grand Prix-II Athletics Championship, Orissa athletes failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics berth again at Patiala, Friday.
Orissa bagged two medals on the opening day of the competition. Sprint queen Dutee Chand won a gold, while Srabani Nanda bagged a bronze medal in the 100 metres. But both of them failed to clear Rio qualification mark.
Dutee cleared the race with a timing of 11.37 seconds, where as the qualification mark was set 11.32 seconds. Earlier Dutee had clocked 11.33 seconds in the Federation Cup Athletics Championships at New Delhi a few days ago. In the process she also created a new national record.
However, at Patiala she was well short of her individual best. “I did not recover fully from my earlier efforts,” stated Dutee after her event. “That is why I failed to qualify for the Olympics. But then there are still a few more events to go from which I can attain the Rio berth,” she added.
However the door to the Rio Games is not yet fully closed for the state athletes. They will have their last chance in the Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship at Hyderabad in June.
The Orissa sprinter also stated that the busy schedule of the meets and the heat and humidity in Patiala affected her performance. “I was not fully fit due to my busy schedule. Excessive heat also took a toll on me. So, I failed to give my best. I will get some time for Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships. I will prepare well and try to put my best foot forward there,” asserted Dutee.
Srabani finished third with a timing of 11.60 seconds. She also failed even to reach her earlier best timing. Another state athlete Jauna Murmu withdrew from the 400 metres due to excessive heat and humid conditions.
