I struggled to perform in Doha because I couldn’t adapt to the heat there, reveals Dutee Chand
Star Indian sprinter Dutee Chand admitted, on Tuesday, that the reason she performed poorly at the World Championships was that she couldn’t adapt well to the heat in Doha. However, she credited her record-breaking performance at the national level to her preparations for the world event.
A fortnight ago, Dutee Chand had failed to qualify for the women’s 100m semi-finals at the World Championships, clocking 11.48 seconds in the heats to finish seventh.
“My preparations for Doha World Championships was very good and that’s why I could do well at the National open. I couldn’t do well at Doha because of the heat there. My body couldn’t adapt to the conditions,” Dutee told PTI.
However, the 23-year-old put aside her disappointments and coasted through at the National Championships, striking record-breaking golds in the 100m and 200m (23.17s) events. “I’m very happy to score my personal best in 100m at the National open. I broke the national record. I had worked really hard and I am happy that it bore fruit,” Dutee said.
However, her record time off 11.22 seconds in the 100m semis in Ranchi was still 0.07 seconds short of the 11.15s qualification time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Now my target is to score 11.15 which is the qualification standard for the Olympics. It is a matter of micro-seconds. In 100m, the timings fluctuate. There are 6-7 months left in our hand for the Olympics. So my focus is entirely to qualify for the Tokyo Games. So I have to work hard to achieve that. This year’s competitions are over, so I’m waiting for next year’s international calendar to be announced,” Dutee said.
Meanwhile, she further revealed that she plans to join politics after she hangs her boots.
“I want to serve the people. Even through my sports, I have been serving the country. I want to join politics. I am still young. So I am focussing on the competitions now but once I retire I plan to do something about it,” Dutee added.
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