Indian ace sprinter Dutee Chand shocks everyone as she announces that it is time for her to hang her boots. However, she ain’t going anywhere until the 2024 Paris Olympics as she wants to give it her all before drawing a line to a fantastic career. She wants to go out on a high and hence she wants to put her best foot forward at the Paris Olympics.
Chand has already participated at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and will be looking to complete the circle in Paris in two years’ time. The star sprinter from Odisha recently participated at the Khelo India University Games where she had to settle for the silver medal after she was beaten by Priya Mohan in the 200m sprint and that can very well be the reason for her to rush to retirement after the Paris Olympics.
In an interview with ESPN just after her second-place finish, Chand explained her intentions and stated everything clearly, “I’m growing old, I’m not as fast as I used to be.” “I’ll pull along for two-three more years if my body cooperates,” the 26-year-old star sprinter from Odisha explained.
Chand bagged two medals at the Khelo India University Games. She defended her 100m very well, winning the gold medal and also winning the silver medal in the 200m sprint. Despite the gold medal, Chand’s timing was 11.68 seconds, which is quite a few seconds more than her personal best and national record of 11.17 seconds, something that she achieved at the Indian Grand Prix in Patiala last year.
Sharing more on her performance, Chand shared how her body is getting slower with age and how she also started training later so that has also had an effect on her timings. “My body is becoming slower and I began training quite late this season,” the 26-year-old highlighted on her performances.
Ever since PT Usha, Chand is one of the most decorated female sprinters from India. She has won two gold medals at the Asian Games in 2018 and became the only Indian to win the gold medal at World University Games in 2019.
It will be interesting to see how she fares in the coming months as she will be 28 years of age during the Paris Olympics and it will be very difficult for her to keep up the pace with the youngsters.
