Dutee Chand awarded Rs 50,000 for qualifying for Rio 2016 Olympics

Dutee Chand became the first Indian female athlete in 36 years to qualify for 100m dash in Olympics as she booked a Rio berth.

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Dutee Chand clocked 11.30 seconds in the women’s 100m heats and then ran 11.24 seconds in the finals to win a silver medal . (Source: PTI)

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday congratulated sprinter Dutee Chand for having qualified for Rio Olympics and said that the people of the state wished her all success in the forthcoming Games.

Describing Dutee’s Olympics qualification a historic achievement that brought glory for Odisha, Patnaik wished victory for her in Rio, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

Odisha Athletic Association Secretary Asirbad Behera congratulated Dutee and announced Rs 50,000 for her.

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Joyed over her feat, Dutee told an Odia television channel that her success was the result of 14 years of hard work. She said the support of her family played a key role in her achievement.

READ: Dutee Chand qualifies for Rio 2016 Olympics in women’s 100m

Dutee on Saturday became the first Indian female athlete to qualify for 100m dash in Olympics in 36 years as she booked a Rio Games berth at the 26th G Kosanov Memorial Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

20-year-old Dutee clocked 11.30 seconds in the women’s 100m heats and then ran an even better 11.24 seconds in the finals to win a silver medal in the Kazakhstan Meet too book the Rio Olympics ticket.

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In the process, Dutee bettered her own national record of 11.33secs which she set at Federation Cup National Championships here in April.

The qualifying mark for the Rio Olympics was set at 11.32 seconds.

Dutee is the first Indian woman to have qualified for 100 metres race in an Olympics after legendary P T Usha competed in the blue-riband event in the 1980 Moscow Games.

She is the first athlete from Odisha to have qualified for Olympics in an individual event.

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Earlier, Odia women athletes Rachita Panda and Anuradha Biswal had participated in 2000 Sydney Olympics in 4×100 metre relay race.