With an Olympic qualifying spot in her sights, national record-holder sprinter Dutee Chand said on Wednesday that her goal for the upcoming Tokyo Games is to reach the 100m final with better timing.
Dutee has yet to break the qualification time of 11.15 seconds, but she is expected to compete in the Tokyo Olympics based on world rankings.
Out of the 56 athletes competing, 33 will be chosen based on qualification timing, while the remaining will be chosen based on rankings.
The 25-year-old, who has a personal best of 11.22 seconds, is currently ranked 42nd on World Athletics' Road to Tokyo list, which includes those who have already qualified based on entry standard timing.
"I will try my best to touch the 11.15 sec standard during the Indian Grand Prix 4 on June 21 and the National Inter-State Championships (June 25-29). If not, I am expecting qualification on the basis of rankings," Dutee said in a virtual press conference.
"My aim in Tokyo is to run below 11.10 seconds and qualify for the final round. Olympics is the biggest event, there will be a lot of athletes who run around 11 seconds and below that," said the runner who was named in as brand ambassador of Senco Gold and Diamonds company as part of its initiatives for the LGBTQ community.
Dutee lamented missing the World Relay Championships in Poland in May, as well as two competitions in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan this month, due to travel restrictions imposed on Indians as a result of the country's COVID-19 situation.
There have been numerous changes to the training and competition schedule" (due to pandemic). " I am disappointed to have missed the international events but we can't do anything," she added.
"Our (4x100m) relay team could have already qualified for the Olympics had we taken part in the World Relays in Poland. All four of us can run below 11.60 and could have run below 43.05," said Dutee who is currently at the national camp at NIS Patiala.
Sixteen teams will compete in the women's 4x100m relay at the Olympics, with the country in 16th place on the Road to Tokyo clocking in at 43.05 seconds.
India is currently ranked 22nd in the 2019 Asian Championships, with a score of 43.81.
She stated that the next month will be critical for her training as she strives to improve her timing.
"Training-wise as well as diet, it is going on perfectly at the NIS. It is a minimum of six hours of training everyday, besides other workouts at the gym, swimming and lifting of weights. I train between 6 and 10am, rest in the afternoon and then training again from 6-8pm in the evening.
I started speed training from February, running 60m, 80m and then 100m. Even a 100m run during training is repeated six times. My coach told me my stamina has improved, so I can improve my timing," said Dutee who won a silver each in the 100m and 200m events in the 2018 Asian Games.
