Medal on mind, Dutee is prepping hard for Tokyo Games

Ace India sprinter Dutee Chand is leaving no stone unturned to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics as she is training for at least six to seven hours every day.

Dutee, on Wednesday, qualified for the quadrennial event in both 100m and 200m races via the World Rankings quota.

"My training is going on pretty well. I practice in the morning from 6 am-10 am, 11 am-12 pm, and then from 4 pm-6 pm, I train for approximately six to seven hours," Dutee told ANI.

Dutee, who represented India in the 2016 Rio Olympics in 100m, is optimistic about clinching a medal in the Tokyo Olympics while being confident of putting up a good show in the showpiece event.

"I am very happy that I would be representing India in Tokyo Olympics. I am very proud to know that I am participating in an individual event for the second time," said Dutee.

"I feel that I will perform well and the credit of my success goes to SAI, Kiren Rijiju sir, my state government, and AFI. I will perform well in the Olympics and will try to win a medal for India," she added.

22 spots were available in 100m and 15 spots in 200m via the World Rankings route. Dutee's overall position of World No. 44 in 100m and World No. 51 in 200m were well within the ranks to make her eligible to fly to Tokyo next month.

Dutee failed in her last race to secure a direct Olympic qualification spot after finishing a disappointing fourth in the women's 100m final at the ongoing 60th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.

Last week, Dutee scripted a new national record in the women's 100m with a time of 11.17 seconds in the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) 4 in Patiala, she had missed the Olympic qualification time by just 0.02 seconds.