For sprinter Dutee Chand, there is something to cheer about when this gifted athlete returns to the city from the Kazhakstan international athletics meet on Saturday, after having qualified for the Rio Olympics this year.
V. Chamundeswarnath, the former chairman of junior national cricket selection committee and now vice-president of Telangana Badminton Association, has decided to felicitate Dutee and present a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh. “Well, this is not an announcement I am making now. I want to stand by my word. On March 10 this year, I said that if Dutee qualifies for the Olympics, I will give her Rs. 5 lakh as an incentive,” Mr. Chamundeswarnath said.
“And, not just that, I also want to reiterate that if anyone from Telangana wins a medal in the Olympics this August, I will present BMW cars,” he added.
Incidentally, Mr. Chamundeswarnath also presented Dutee with Rs. 1 lakh in March towards meeting some of the expenses for training as a token gesture.
“Honestly, I am surprised by the grit and tenacity of this girl. It is amazing for someone who was banned by the IAAF on suspected grounds of hyperandrogenism for a year in 2014 to come back to the circuit and perform so consistently,” Mr. Chamundeswarnath said.
“We have to acknowledge the efforts of Sports Authority of India coach Nagapuri Ramesh for his untiring contribution in mentoring this champion athlete, especially when she was in such distress after the ban,” the former Andhra Ranji cricketer said.
Training
It may be mentioned that Dutee, though born in Orissa, has made the city a second home thanks to India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand’s gesture of providing free accommodation at his academy in Gachibowli so that the athlete can train in the nearby GMC Balayogi stadium.
Mr. Gopichand said that by all means Dutee is a champion athlete with rare traits of fighting spirit amidst adversity, and is bound to go to places, especially when someone like Mr. Ramesh (coach) is taking care of her training with such zeal and passion.
