Dutee aiming for a semifinal spot

The Indian sprinter is training in Hyderabad with coach Ramesh before she flies off to Tokyo for the Olympics

Hyderabad: Dutee Chand is back in Hyderabad. The Indian sprint star preferred to practice in this city instead of her home place Bhubaneswar as part of her preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

Incidentally, Hyderabad holds a special place for Dutee ever since she started training with Dronacharya awardee Nagapuri Ramesh. “Hyderabad is my second home. This city is special to me. I could make a comeback to athletics after all the controversy over gender in 2015.

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Ramesh sir and (Pullela) Gopichand sir gave me all the confidence then,’’ said Dutee.
After the two meets at Patiala, Dutee flew into Hyderabad to train under coach Ramesh, who too will accompany the Odisha sprinter to Tokyo. She is all focused for the big event.

Ramesh has ensured that the sprinter has smooth training sessions before their departure to Tokyo. “We are concentrating on strength and core exercises. She does her Gym work at Gopichand Academy and carries out the training at newly laid track at Gaudium School Sportopia. We could arrange all these thanks to the SAI-Gopichand-Mytrah Foundation. We have State athletes like Harika, Deepthi, Srinivas and Rajesh training with Dutee. It has been so far good,’’ said Ramesh.

Ramesh said Dutee was unlucky to miss the qualifying mark in Patiala but she is a confident athlete. She has got the experience to compete against the best runners of the world,’’ he said.
Dutee said she was eyeing for a semifinal spot. “I think I’m in a good rhythm. The top sprinters have a timing between 10.6s and 11.2 seconds. My aim would be to reach a minimum of 11.10 second to reach the semifinals. It is a big challenge but if I get a good start anything can happen,’’ she said.

Also read: Challenge for Dutee in Tokyo: Nagapuri Ramesh

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