Dutee Chand is an Indian sprinter and national champion in the women's 100m event. Dutee Chand was born on February 3rd, 1996 in Odisha. She belongs to a weaver's family and she was inspired by her sister Saraswati Chand who was a state level runner to take up running. Both the sisters got enrolled in a government sports hostel in 2006, and that played a major role in helping her reach to the new heights in the athletics journey.
Career:
Dutee Chand started her career from the sports school sehe was enrolled to in 2006 and within 6 years, she became the national champion in 100m by clocking 11.85 seconds in the under 18 category. 2013 was also a year to remember for her, as she won bronze in 200m in Asian Athletics Championship by clocking 23.811 seconds. She also became the first Indian to reach finals in the Youth World Championship in athletics. She also became the national champion in both 100m and 200m by clocking just 11.23s and 23.73s respectively in the National Senior Athletics Championship held at Ranchi.
Chand had a bittersweet journey in 2014 as She won two gold medals at Asian Junior Athletics Championship in 200m and 4×400m in June. She also bettered her timing in 200 meters by completing the distance in just 23.74 seconds, but was not selected to Commonwealth games. Despite the best effort, she was not able to get a place in the 2014 Commonwealth games owing to hyperandrogenism issues as stated by Athletic Federation of India. Following the same, she was also dropped from the Indian team in the 2014 Asian Games.
Many athletes all around the world supported her against the controversy. Chand then approached CAS and won the case, the IAAF policy on hyperandrogenism-high levels of testosterone in women was suspended and Chand was allowed to race again on the tracks. 2016, in the comeback year itself, Chand made it to the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship in 60m and won bronze by clocking 7.37 seconds in the final. She also broke the national record of 11.38 seconds in 100m, by clocking 11.34 seconds in the Federation Cup National Athletics Championship. She also qualified for Rio Olympics 2016, by clocking 11.24s on June 25. She became the only third Indian woman to participate in the Olympics, but couldn't make it to the finals.
Dutee Chand, had a great comeback and started to participate in track events. In 2017, She bagged two bronze medals in 100m and 4×100m relay in Asian Athletics Championship. In Asian Games 2018, she won two silvers in 100m and 200m events making it to history books in athletics. She also became the first Indian woman to win at Summer Universiade by winning 100m gold by clocking 11.32 seconds.
Dutee signed a deal with sport brand Puma for 2 years in 2019 and is sponsored by them. She is currently working as assistant manager in Odisha Mining Corporation from 2016. Dutee is the first Indian athlete to come out as LGBTQ+ openly and she is in a same sex relationship currently. Dutee Chand is training along with many other champions at Hyderabad and is yet to reach more heights in Athletics. She is now a role model and inspiration to many women to continue sports. She is looked upon by youngsters and is an inspiration to them in athletics.
