Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Dutee Chand awaiting AFI nod to participate in international events to touch Tokyo Olympic cut-off mark

Waiting for AFI approval for international events to touch Tokyo Olympic qualification mark to keep my medal hopes alive, says India's star sprinter Dutee Chand.

Dutee Chand awaiting AFI nod to participate in international events to touch Tokyo Olympic cut-off mark

New Delhi, Dec 16: India's ace sprinter Dutee Chand has set her sights at qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but the current national champion in the women's 100 metres event laments she isn't getting the right kind of support from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Talking to media persons about the hurdles she's facing in her way to making it to the Tokyo Olympics, the 23-year-old says the federation isn't giving her the due importance and sidelining her continuously.

Dutee smashed her own national record, clocking 11.22 seconds, in the women's 100m semifinals at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi earlier this year. The Odisha sprinter fared her previous timing of 11.26 second which she had set at the Asian Championships in April this year.

Dutee Chand features in TIME 100 Next list of the most influential persons in world, Odisha CM congratulatesDutee Chand features in TIME 100 Next list of the most influential persons in world, Odisha CM congratulates

However, the sprinter faces a daunting challenge of further improving her personal best to make it to Tokyo Olympic's qualification cut-off mark which is 11.15 seconds. With no competition coming from women athletes, Dutee is preparing with male athletes to better her performance at the track in Bhubaneswar. To keep her medal prospects alive at the next Summer Olympic Games, she wants to compete with international athletes but despite several requests, the federation is yet to send her name for such competitions.

Talking to MyKhel on the sidelines of Ekamra Sports Literature Festival in New Delhi, the sprinter said she doing everything in her capacity to train herself but the international exposure before the mega event is what she needs.

Here are the excerpts from her interaction:

MyKhel: How confident you are of breaching the 11.15 seconds qualification mark set for Tokyo Olympics?

Dutee Chand: I am very confident of qualifying for Tokyo Olympics because recently I clocked 11.22 in Ranchi and I need to improve just seven micro-seconds to touch 11.15 second-mark. My training is also going systematically and strategically. All I need is to participate in the international tournaments that are going on in the European countries so that I can compete with the best in the world and improve my timing because here in India there's no athlete with whom I can compete and better my timing.

Hopefully, the AFI soon grants me permission to go and compete in the European competitions. There are international competitions going on even as I speak, but it all boils down the permission from the federation.

I have also set up a team of three male athletes with whom I practice in Bhubaneswar. Since 2018, I have personally hired a personal trainer, assistant coach, physiotherapist and masseuse and I am bearing their expenses from my own pocket. Under the watchful eyes of my coach N Ramesh, we are all working as a team and I can feel there is a lot of improvement.

MK: Why are you not able to participate in international competitions, what is the reason behind it?

Dutee: Look, the AFI has to give you permission to participate in international events. You'll be able to participate only when the federation provides it's consent and sends your name. Hima Das and other athletes are being sent by the AFI but I don't know why the federation hasn't sent my name. I sent them a list of competitions where I wish to participate and improve my timing but nothing has happened so far.

MK: Did you raise this issue with the higher officials in the AFI and the Sports Ministry?

Dutee: I have tried a lot. I approached Rajyavardhan Rathore Sir when he was the Sports Minister and urged him to put my name in Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). He assured me that he'll discuss the matter with the AFI but he's no more holds the portfolio. I have raised this issue with the current Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Sir a couple of times, but there isn't any progress so far.

I have written several emails to the federation to allow me and even told that Odisha Government and I myself will bear my expenses, but nothing has materialised.

MK: You told you hardly get any monetary benefits from the federation, but there was a perception that there is no shortage of funds for you, and that you must be getting millions in endorsements.

Dutee: No, the only monetary help I received from the government was the sum of Rs 3 crore but that was a few years back which I spent wisely on improving the condition of my family by constructing my house for my parents, settled the loans owed by my family, and taking care of my expenses.

The only endorsement I have at the moment is with Puma Sports and that helps me fund my expenses which includes paying the team of athletes I have hired, my personal coach, physio etc., along with my nutrition. An athlete needs to spend approximately Rs 4 lakh/month on the coaching staff. I am not denying that the government isn't funding me but furnishing a bill for each and every expense I make isn't possible.

MK: Why do you think the federation is upset with you?

Dutee: The only reason I could think of is that the federation is upset with me is that I don't live in the national camps. (Explaining why she couldn't attend the national camps) I fear the trauma of the taunts from fellow athletes during my struggle against hyperandrogenism and the recent controversies revolving around my sexuality might give fodder to my distractors and that could eventually affect my performance. I have very bad memories of the national camps which no athlete should go through his/her professional career.

Story first published: Monday, December 16, 2019, 18:05 [IST]
Other articles published on Dec 16, 2019