World Athletics Championships | Dutee Chand eyes personal best timing to qualify for finals

Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has set herself an objective of reaching the finals of the women’s 100m dash at the World Championships starting in Doha on September 27 with a personal best timing. “I hope to run my best in Doha, that is my target,” she told the PTI.

Chand, who has been training at night to match her race timings in Doha believes her “preparations are going well” and she looks forward to what will happen in Doha. She will run in the women’s 100m heats on September 28 at 4:30 pm local time and 7 pm Indian time at the main event in Doha. She, however, is not eyeing the Tokyo Olympics qualification mark of 11.15s at the World Championships as she feels she is not yet ready.

Chand has participated in 15 competitive races this season (3 Indian Prix, 3 in Fed Cup, 3 in National Inter-State, 3 in World Universiade and 3 in Asian Championships). The IAAF World Championships are normally held before August, but in view of the heat in the middle-eastern city of Doha, the event is being pushed to commence late September. Even though the athletes have tweaked their training so as to peak during the showpiece event, the late-season fixture and the heat, which will still be high, may have an impact on the timings of the athletes.

Chand, who became the first Indian to win a 100m gold in a global event during the World University Games in July in Napoli, has been training with her coach N Ramesh at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. She has said that her coach N Ramesh will accompany her to the World Championships and she will bear all his expenses as he is not a member of the official Indian contingent.