Gopi Chand hails Dutee's Asiad feat

Dutee Chand won a silver each in the 100 m and 200 m event respectively to join champions like PT Usha in the list of athletes who have won more than one medal at the Asian Games.

Silver medal winner Indian athlete Dutee Chand at a medal ceremony of women's 200m final track event at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta.

India's chief national badminton coach, P. Gopi Chand, has hailed the performance of sprinter Dutee Chand in the on-going Asian Games where she clinched a silver each in the 100 m and the 200 m events.

The star Indian sprinter's feat in the 100 m dash gave the country its first medal in 20 years in this event.

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“Lot of efforts for sure have gone into realising these goals by her and the trainer N. Ramesh (SAI athletics coach). Not many would have believed three years ago that Dutee would achieve what she has done in Asiad now,” Gopi said on Thursday adding, "I am glad she is from our own Academy too."

There was a choice sometime back for Dutee to go back to Odisha but she refused to do so and preferred to stay at the Gopi Chand Academy.

"We will continue to support her,” Gopi said. “I should say it is a team effort all the way - everyone chipped in including the Mythra Foundation, the SAI and SATS,” he added.

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“It is remarkable to see her win two medals and this just shows how simple things like self-belief can see people achieve great things."

“There are many great stories coming from athletics. I know in the Gopi Academy-Mythra Foundation project we are running, there are many more young kids who have the potential and the urge to do well.

"(I am) really very happy with what Dutee has achieved. She definitely will be a role model for years to come for people who take up the sport for many more years,” he concluded.