Internet Desk: Dutee Chand hogged the limelight on the opening day of the 20th Federation Cup athletics at the Nehru Stadium on Thursday. Dutee set a new national record in women’s 100m with a time of 10.33 seconds, but failed to make the Olympic cut. She missed the Rio Olympic qualification mark by one hundredth of a second. Dutee beat a strong field that included Pinki Pramanik, who was returning to the circuit after years in the wilderness.
The earlier National record of 10.38 had stood in the name of Rachita Mistry, who set the mark in August 2000 in Thiruvananthapuram. Srabani Nanda and H.M. Jyothi pushed Dutee hard, before she flew at the finish.
Another Odisha athlete Amiya Kumar Mallick also broke the national record in men’s 100m sprint by clocking 11.26secs in the semifinals, thereby bettering the earlier national mark of 10:30secs set by Abdul Najeeb Qureshi in 2010.
Mallick, however, failed to finish at the podium in the men’s 100m race finals due to left hamstring pull.
None of the athletes, however, could qualify for the Rio Olympics on the first day of the meet. The three-day championships, the first major event of the season, also served as the qualifying event for the Rio Games.
20-year-old Dutee, who won a landmark ‘gender case’ at the Court of Arbitration for Sports against the world athletics governing body IAAF in July last year, however, missed the Rio Olympics qualification norm of 11.32secs by one-hundredth of a second.
Dutee was banned from competitions in 2014 under IAAF’s policy on hyperandrogenism and she filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne which she won last year to clear the decks for her return to athletics.
An elated Dutee said that all her hard work and focus despite the distractions and disappointments in the last few years have given her rich dividends.
“I could not qualify for Rio Olympics but I am not disappointed by that. I am extremely happy, the national record is mine now. It is very early in the season, it’s the first meet and I have three more months to qualify for the Rio Olympics,” Dutee said after winning the race.
“I have gotten over all those disappointments related to my case (relating to IAAF’s hyperandrogenism policy). After winning the case at the CAS, I have been focussing on my running and with the help of my personal coach (N Ramesh) and my well wishers, I could achieve this,” said Dutee who trains at the Puellela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad.
Asked about any changes in Dutee’s running that led to her national record, coach Ramesh said, “Dutee always starts off the block quickly but she needs more power off the blocks so that she can finish the race strong. So we made changes that she would hit the block with more power so that she starts with more power, besides starting off the blocks quickly.
“I hope Dutee will now be included in the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme. It will be better if she is sent for foreign training stint. Here in India the temperature will keep on increasing and chances for Rio qualification will be more in competitions outside the country. We will make a request to the sports ministry and Sports Authority of India.”