Dutee Chand finished second, clocking 11.32s, only 0.02. seconds off gold medallist Bahrain's Odiong Edidiong's timing
Dutee Chand celebrates with the tri-colour after winning silver yesterday. Pic/PTI
Dutee Chand's story is the perfect script for a Bollywood potboiler. Kicked out of the Asian Games squad four years ago over a hyperandrogenism row, she fought her way back, both on and off the track, and last night clinched a silver medal in the 100m dash at this edition of the quadrennial competition. She finished second, clocking 11.32s, only 0.02. seconds off gold medallist Bahrain's Odiong Edidiong's timing.
Photo finish
Dutee began the race brilliantly and was in the lead briefly before Edidiong stunned the field, emerging late to win via a photo finish. Dutee's feat equals the best finish by an Indian woman in the 100m sprint and has come after 32 years — PT Usha last bagged silver at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul.
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To say that the last four years have been troublesome for Dutee would be an understatement. After being barred from participation as per the International Association of Athletics Federation rules, following her diagnosis of hyperandrogenism, a condition where the body produces excessive testosterone levels, Dutee approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport and earned a favourable judgement earlier this year.
"I have had to hear a lot of things both on my face and behind my back. I was helpless and that's when I took legal recourse. I'm so glad I did because after me, many athletes too have done the same and won their cases," said Dutee, who never stopped training despite being unsure of whether or not the CAS would rule in her favour.
Hard work pays off
"Normally, athletes train for four to five hours a day, but I used to train for six to eight hours daily because I wanted to prove that I am not wrong. And today, I feel the joy that a newborn child's mother would feel, having delivering a baby after a very painful labour period," she signed off.
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