Dutee Chand granted Europe visa as preparation continues for Olympic qualification

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Having failed to get a visa to head to Europe and participate in a few races to qualify for the World Athletics Championships, Dutee Chand finally got her visa after the Sports Ministry came to her aid.

Taking to Twitter, Dutee wrote, "Stand as a proud daughter with all who stood by me in the time of need. Big shout out 2 all who made my voice heard. Big thanks to @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar @IndiaSports @KirenRijiju for personally looking into my visa issue and clearing it from their side. Thanks @Naveen_Odisha (sic)."

Dutee is keen to qualify for the women`s 100m event at the 2020 Tokyo Games and said that her preparations are on in full swing for the same.

"I was very happy with my performance at the World Universiade Games where I won the gold medal. I learnt a lot and it was a wonderful experience for me. However, the qualification mark for the Olympics of 11.15 seconds is very difficult. No Indian athlete has ever achieved that. Even, my personal best is 11.24 seconds.

"Despite that, I will try my best to achieve the qualification mark in order to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics," she told IANS.

Speaking about the upcoming World Championships to be held from September 27 to October 6, Dutee said she is looking forward to the event.

"My preparations for the upcoming World Championships are going pretty well. I am working 5-6 hours daily along with my coaches and teammates," she said.