BHUBANESWAR: Star sprinter Dutee Chand has sealed her Tokyo Olympics spot in 100 and 200 metres based on her current world rankings even though she missed direct qualification despite setting a new national record recently. Official sources said total 22 spots are up for grabs in 100m and 15 in 200m through world ranking route. Dutee’s current ranking is 44 in 100m and 51 in 200m. Both are within the rankings quota, making her eligible for Tokyo.
“Though I am yet to get a formal invitation from the world athletics body, I am sure about my qualification based on my current world rankings. It is every athletes dream to compete at the Olympics. I am very fortunate to compete in two successive Olympics,” Dutee told TOI over phone from Patiala.
In 2016, Dutee had scripted history becoming the first Indian woman athlete to qualify for 100m at Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years. “I could not perform well in Rio, but I had gained a lot of experience which helped me to finetune my preparation for Tokyo. Though I could not participate in major international events due to travel restrictions owing to Covid, I kept training at Kalinga Stadium targeting the Tokyo Olympics,” said Dutee.
The 25-year-old athlete recently set a new national record in 100m by clocking 11.17 seconds at the Indian National Grand Prix-4 in Patiala but missed the Olympic qualification timing by 0.02 seconds. She missed direct qualification after she finished fourth in the women’s 100m at the 60th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.
