EXCLUSIVE | Dutee Chand aims to clock 11.05s at Tokyo Olympics, says pressure brings out best in her

Patiala: Ace sprinter Dutee Chand is determined to clock around 11.05s to 11.10s in the women’s 100m at the Tokyo Olympics after it was confirmed that she has qualified for the big event next month according to the ‘Road to Tokyo’ rankings at the World Athletics website.

Dutee had also made the cut in women’s 200m event. 22 spots were available in the 100m while 15 spots in 200m via the World Rankings route. However, the official confirmation will be declared on July 1. While Dutee is ranked 44th in the world in 100m, in 200m she is on the 51st spot.

“It’s a proud moment for me to be able to compete at back-to-back Olympics. I wasn’t in the right space of mind at the 2016 Rio Games because of the controversy but this time I am going with full preparation and hope to do well,” Dutee told Sportslight Media exclusively from Patiala.

She will also be the only Indian female sprinter to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. This will also be Dutee’s second Olympic appearance after the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 25-year-old made headlines when she broke her own women’s 100m national record in 11.17s at the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) IV on June 21 missing the Olympic Qualification standard by 0.02s.

“I thank god for keeping faith in me and all the hard work that I have put in for the last few years has finally paid off. Considering my recent performances, my body is in the 11 seconds range. If I am able to clock somewhere between 11.05s and 11.10s in the 100m, I am pretty confident of making the semifinals. I will try my best to qualify for the final round,” she added.

However, in the recently concluded Inter-State Athletics Championship which concluded on June 29, Dutee finished fourth with 11.62s. She will be taking a few days break before returning to the track next Monday. The Odisha sprinter has also planned her routine during this gap as she will be focusing to bring her muscle strength back.

“I will be taking a break for a few days for recovery before I start from Monday again. I will be hitting the gym shortly to regain my power and stamina and do the pool exercises to make my muscles strong again. In the track workout, I will be focussing on block start with the finishing point drill (for 20-30 metres),” she added.

The 2018 Asian Games double silver medallist also stated that pressures bring out the best in her and hoped that something similar will happen in Tokyo too. “You can’t rub off the pressure, it will be there at any competition you go. There was a lot of pressure at the 2018 Asian Games. The same goes for the University Games in 2019 where I won gold. Pressure brings out the best in me,” Dutee said (laughs).

Dutee’s coach Nagapuri Ramesh also gave an insight into what went through behind Dutee’s not-so-expected show at the Inter-State meet following a successful IGP IV. “She was carrying small niggles from before. But everything was taken care of while training in Patiala,” Ramesh continued.

“She broke the national record on Monday (June 21) at the IGP IV. Then soon after at the Inter-State meet, she ran in the women’s 4x100m relay before running in the heats and the final on the next day. I must appreciate Dutee for keeping it light so as to avoid any kind of injuries at this point of time,” added Ramesh.

Asked about what’s in store for Dutee in the next four weeks before the Olympics, Ramesh left it totally on the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to decide on the future plans. “It’s totally AFI’s decision on what they are planning for the athletes. Several things need to be looked at and I think something will surely come up after the official announcement tomorrow,” Ramesh concluded.