Cash crunch forces Dutee Chand to sell car to fund training

HYDERABAD: India's fastest woman athlete Dutee Chand has decided to sell her luxury sedan in order to meet her training expenses for the Tokyo Olympic Games next year.
The 24-year-old Bhubaneswar-based athlete was in good form as she had set a national record of 11.22 seconds during the 59th National Open meet in Ranchi in October last year, before the pandemic halted her progress.
Since the cancellation of the Fed Cup athletics meet, scheduled to be held in Patiala in April this year, Dutee has been at home in Bhubaneswar. She resumed her training at the Kalinga Stadium after the Odisha government gave her permission as per the relaxed guidelines in May this year. Currently, Hyderabad-based coach N Ramesh has been training her online and monitoring her progress.
Speaking to TOI from her home in Bhubaneswar, Dutee said, "I have exhausted all my money set aside for Olympic training during the lockdown. Now that the Olympic Games are postponed, I need nearly Rs 25 lakh to meet my training expenses for the Tokyo Games. So, I have decided to sell my car."
Dutee, who spent a lot of money to help the needy during the lockdown, rued lack of sponsors. "Due to the pandemic, no sponsor is coming forward to fund my training. I need money for my diet. And I also plan to go abroad to pursue my Olympic dream," Dutee, who took part in the 2016 Rio Games, added.
However, Dutee is yet to decide on her preparation schedule for the Tokyo Games. Germany is one of the destinations, though. "Sport is returning back in a phased manner across the world. Major competitions like football, cricket have resumed in Europe. Hopefully, competitions will be back in our country from September. Once the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announces its plans, I will decide on my training schedule for the Tokyo Games," she added.