Jakarta: Indian sprinter Dutee Chand missed out on gold by a whisker and clinched silver in the women’s 100m dash in the 18th Asian Games to win the country’s first medal in 20 years in this event, Sunday. Running in lane No.7, Dutee clocked 11.32 seconds, a tad below her national record – 11.29 seconds.
Odiong Edidiong of Bahrain won the gold with 11.30-second finish, while Wei Yongli of China took the bronze clocking 11.33 seconds.
Congratulate #DuteeChand on sprinting to glory with a Silver in 100m sprint at #AsianGames2018. You have made the nation proud and #Odisha could not have been prouder! Best wishes. #OdishaForIndia
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 26, 2018
The 22-year-old from Odisha is taking part in her first Asian Games. Incidentally, Dutee was suspended by the IAAF in 2014 under its hyperandrogenism policy, but she filed an appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) and emerged victorious.
Recently, under a revised rule of the IAAF, Dutee was left out of the purview of the hyperandrogenism policy giving her liberty to pursue her career.
India’s last medal in this event was secured by another Odia sprinter Rachita Mistry who had won a bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. However, as far as the race timings are concerned, Dutee is way ahead of Rachita. Rachita had clocked 11.41 seconds, while Dutee achieved the feat in just 11.32 seconds.
Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have congratulated the state sprint queen for her remarkable feat.
Odisha Athletics Association (OAA), on the other hand, announced a cash reward of `50,000 for the Jajpur girl who had secured a bronze in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar last year.