Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who returned from Jakarta on Friday, 31 August after clinching silver in women’s 100m and 200m event received a grand welcome at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
Dutee was beaten by Baharin's Edidiong Odiong by a 200th of a second in the 100m event. Later in the Games, Dutee in her 200m dash clocked 23.2 seconds to clinch the silver medal.
Dutee in her first press conference upon her return to India, opened up about her difficult times when she was banned by the association, the poor financial stature of her family and her plans ahead.
Her coach, N Ramesh on the other hand stated that while he has advised Dutee to enjoy the podium finish, their goal in the coming time will be to break the barrier of 11 seconds in the 100m sprint.
Dutee began the conference by thanking the people of Odisha and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his support.
I thank the people of Odisha who prayed for me and it is their blessings that led to this result at the Asian games. I was really happy when I heard that CM Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 1.5 crore for my silver finish at the 100m, this motivated me to do well in the 200m sprint.Dutee Chand
When asked about her time during the IAAF ban in 2014 and her current performance, Dutee replied:
I was mentally not in peace when I was fighting the case, that is why in the Asian championship which was held in Bhubaneshwar I could not win a medal, but after that was done and dusted, I have come back as a medal contender.Dutee Chand
While speaking about the financial award from the Odisha government, she chuckled stating, “I have never seen this amount of money and I don’t even have any idea, how will I count it, it will take me month to count it.”
Dutee added that she will try to spend the money in the right way,
“I will use the money for my training, and as you know that my family is very poor, I will try to use it in the best manner.”
India’s fastest woman also shared her advise for the budding younger generation,
I hoped that one day I will try to bring medal for India in the 100m and 200m, it has come true now, my advice for the youngsters would be, work hard and god will reward you with success.Dutee Chand
While she enjoys her much deserved glory, coach N Ramesh was of the opinion that Dutee is a very hard working athlete and a great fighter both on and off the field.
Ramesh also announced that, once they are done with the celebration, they will start preparing for the Olympics.
She is a great fighter both on and off the field, that’s what has made her what she is today. We are enjoying the Asian games medals at the moment and then we will start planning for the Olympics, but roughly I can say that we want to break the 11 seconds barrier.N Ramesh, Coach
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