Bhubaneswar, Aug. 11: As soon as she was given back her wings, ace Odia sprinter Dutee Chand began to fly again.
The athlete from Odisha won the gold medal in the 200-metre sprint at the 13th Federation Cup National Junior Athletic Championship in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Last year, Dutee had been banned from competing in national and international events after testing high for levels of androgen. But, she fought back and secured the permission to compete in the national events first. Soon after, she had grabbed a gold and a bronze at the 35th National Games in February 2015 in her pet 100m and 200m events, respectively. In June, she was also allowed to take part in the Asian Athletics Championship in China, where she won a gold as part of the women's relay event.
"I was in the best form of my career in July 2014, when I was pulled into the controversy. Now, I don't feel as confident as I was then," she had said last month.
Busy with the proceedings of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ban on ground of high androgen levels, Dutee faced emotional and physical challenges with her identity as a woman being questioned. This hampered her training.
Last month, the court gave her the permission to take part in any international athletic event, bringing an end to her yearlong fight. The victory was big, but she was still doubtful if she would ever get back to her best form. "I have worked doubly hard and yet I do not feel as good yet. But, I will not give up," she had told The Telegraph in July.
She won the gold in her favourite 200-metre even after joining the event at the last moment. Earlier, she had won one gold in relay event and two silver medals in 100-metre and 200-metre sprints at the inter-railway meet in Bhopal. Last year, it was the same event, being organised in Chennai, where Dutee got to know that she was banned following the androgen level test.
"I'm just happy with my performance. I feel great to compete at major events. Thankfully, all the chaos has ended and now I can focus on my performance," said Dutee over telephone from Hyderabad. Though she feels she could time it better, Dutee is also patient for her complete recovery from the yearlong fight and a hamstring injury.
"I'm improving every day since my training had been affected badly for almost a year. Now, I'm aiming for the Rio Olympics," said the 19-year-old athlete from Jajpur.
But, she also faces another challenge now. She has been asked by the Athletics Federation of India to train for the 4x400-metre relay to qualify for the Rio Olympics at the national camp in Patiala. But Dutee said she would need more endurance for a 400-metre run. "A 400-metre run will be tougher, but I can do that if they allow me to train under my coach. I don't understand why I have been proposed to train under a new coach whereas right now, it's my coach who can train me best," said Dutee, now practising under N. Ramesh at the P. Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.
"I'm also looking forward to clock the right time in 100 and 200 metres at major events before August to qualify for the upcoming Olympics," she said.
