Dutee Chand has no second thoughts about her silver medal winning performances at the Asian Games in Jakarta. Although she came second narrowly both times - by 0.02 seconds in the 100m final and 0.24 seconds in the 200m final - she admits she gave it “her best.”
At a facilitation ceremony here, Dutee said, “I lost the gold twice, that was God’s will, I gave my best. There is nothing more one can do when the difference is so small. My aim now is the Olympics. I want to compete in the final,” she said.
“I had to work very hard for this result. It is huge that I won two medals. Personally, I like my 100m medal more. I focused on that event more and lost it by a very small margin.” Dutee said she was grateful to the Gopi Chand Academy that prepared her for a comeback after her career hit a roadblock due to hyperandrogenism.
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The resurrection involved a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and determined training.
“I stayed for four years at the Gopi Chand Academy in Hyderabad. I fought my case from there and then finally won the Asian Games medals. I cannot express in words how much I am grateful to him,” she said.
Her efforts were acknowledged when the gold medallist in the 100m and 200m sprints - Edidiong Odiong - and the others made a “touching gesture.”
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“I was hugely touched by the way the gold medallist and the others treated me. They came up to me and said I was an inspiration for them. They congratulated me for the way I fought back to return to the track. It was indeed a touching gesture,” she said.
Dutee also thanked the Odisha State government for its support. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced a cash reward of ₹1.5 crore for each of her two medals. “I am delighted that the State government is supporting me so much. They are going to bear all my expenses till the Olympics,” she said.