 | « Back to article | Print this article |
India's fastest woman Dutee Chand was on Friday granted visa to travel to Europe and participate in a couple of races in her bid to qualify for the World Athletics Championships.
On Thursday, the athlete requested the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help her get visa so that she can participate in the competitions.
"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," Dutee wrote on her twitter handle.
Dutee, who recently became the first Indian woman track and field athlete to clinch a gold medal in the World University Games, is slated to compete in 100m dash in two IAAF-approved races -- one in Ireland on August 13 and another in Germany on August 19.
Sources said that the athlete had applied for the visa last week and had planned to depart from India on Friday.
The World Championships qualifying timing is 11.24 seconds and the 2020 Olympic Games cut-off is 11.15.
She ran her personal best and achieved a national record time of 11.26 seconds in Doha in April during the Asian Championships.