Tokyo Olympics: Dutee Chand secures Olympic qualification for 100m and 200m races

Tokyo Olympics: Dutee Chand secures Olympic qualification for 100m and 200m races

Dutee Chand

Ace Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has secured a berth at the Tokyo Olympics owing to her World Rankings. While 22 spots were available in the 100m event, only 15 spots were up for grabs in 200m via World Rankings route. Dutee, who is placed 44th in the 100m rankings and 51st in 200m event, qualified for both.

The Indian sprint ace broke her own 100m national record, clocking 11.7 seconds at the Indian Grand Prix 4 in Patiala last week. The effort almost landed her an Olympic berth as she missed the automatic Olympic qualification time by only 0.02 seconds. On the other hand, Hima Das has been ruled out of the Summer Games due to an injury.

Dutee Chand nominated for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

dutee chand
Dutee Chand

Dutee Chand was nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, by the Odisha government on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who won a silver each in the 100m and 200m events in the 2018 Asian Games, was conferred with the Arjuna Award last year.

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“I’m thankful to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik for nominating my name for the Khel Ratna Award. May your blessing always be upon me,” Dutee wrote on Twitter.

The Sports and Youth Services Department of Odisha government has also nominated Olympic-bound Indian hockey vice-captain Birendra Lakra, hockey coach Kalu Charan Choudhury and former sprinter and Olympian Anuradha Biswal for the annual National Sports Awards.

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