2016 Olympics: Doughty Dutee Chand makes the cut

Dutee Chand is all smiles as she poses with her trainer Nagapuri Ramesh (left) and India sprint coach Dmitry Vanyaikin (right) of Ukraine, after qualifying for the Rio Olympics in Almaty, Kazhakstan, on Saturday.

A determined Dutee Chand grabbed a historic place at the Rio Olympics by smashing her own national record on way to winning her 100 metres heats at the 26th G. Kosanov Memorial athletics meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday.

The 20-year-old clocked 11.30 seconds ahead of Anasstasia Tulapina (11.67 secs) of Kazakhstan and Mariya Mokrova (11.69) of Ukraine to run under the Olympic qualification mark of 11.32 seconds. That also bettered her own national record of 11.33 secs set at the Federation Cup in Delhi in April, when she missed the Olympic qualifying mark by one hundredth of a second.

Saturday’s scorching run made Dutee the first Indian woman to make the Olympics after qualifying times were introduced in 2000. Earlier, athletes used to make the Games on quota places. “I have been dreaming about this for 14 years, and am glad that it has come true,” the excited athlete said from Almaty.

“To compete at the Olympics is every sportsperson’s dream and I just can’t wait to run at Rio,” she added.

Indeed. Dutee has always been running to stand still in life. Coming from a rural background — she is one of four daughters of a poor weaver couple in Gopalpur village in Orissa — Dutee had no access to basic comforts and took up running only to give her elder sister Saraswati company, by the riverside. Soon, she started sweeping up medals at the school, youth and national levels.

However, 2014 was a major setback. Hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete. In 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed two further years for convincing evidence to be submitted by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF), clearing Dutee to race again.

That’s when she decided to move to Hyderabad and train full time under Sports Authority of India coach Nagapuri Ramesh. “I would like to thank each and everyone who has supported me in my endeavour — my coach, the state governments of Orissa and Telangana as well. Hyderabad has been so lucky for me — I have broken national records, an Asian indoor record and now qualified for the world’s biggest sporting stage with Hyderabad as my base. I am so happy. I love the city,” she said.

“Special thanks to Gopi bhai (national badminton coach) who has also been very supportive, providing me accommodation at his academy,” said Duteee, who stays at the Pullela Gopichand Academy as part of the national camp sponsored by the Sports Authority of India.

In her moment of joy, Dutee recalled the troubled times. “This feat is special because I have come through a lot of hardship. From running on an uneven mud path along the river as a child to the state-of-the-art synthetic tracks of the world is surreal,” she says.

“I was distressed when they pulled me out of the Commonwealth and Asian Games because of the gender issue. But by God’s grace I won the CAS ruling and within one year, I am at the OLYMPICS! God is really great,” she exclaims.

Dutee has a penchant to prove her doubters wrong. “When I missed the Olympic qualification mark by .1 second two months ago, not many believed that I could ever come that close again, but deep down inside I knew my time would come,” she reveals. Now, “I want to win a medal at the Olympics and do the country proud,” she says. Miss Doughty!