INTERVIEW | Dutee is a Path-breaker, says author Sundeep Misra

Express News Service

Would you put Dutee Chand among greats such as Milkha Singh and PT Usha?

That’s a difficult ask. Milkha reached the Olympic final, won four Asian Games gold and a Commonwealth gold. PT Usha won four Asian Games gold, seven silvers and at the Asian Championships in Jakarta (1985), she won five gold, which included winning the 100, 200 and 400 mt which was remarkable. Dutee has a lot to achieve in that respect. But she has kept the spirit alive in sprinting with her two silvers at the 2018 Asian Games which is no mean feat looking at the field. Above all, she is a path-breaker in the way she has defined herself on and off the track.

Her life and her resilience are an inspiration…

Completely. No doubt about that. Without that grit, she would have fallen by the wayside, a prey to the usual narrative. How many of us can take on the World Federation, stand in alien conditions and say that ‘if I lost the appeal, I wouldn’t be looked on as a woman’. They listened to her. To each of us, it was a message: Stand up for what you feel is right.

What did Dutee have to say to this book?

I really haven’t got the opportunity. She is in a bubble and completely focussed on Tokyo.
Do you think sometimes coaches fail to understand the true potential of those they nurture… for example, Dutee?

I do believe that Ramesh (her coach) has done a wonderful job. But there are levels to which every athlete needs to aspire. I believe a stint for a couple of years abroad would ensure she reaches the top; nothing like world class competition to bring out the best in you. Figuring out talent in a sub-junior is a gift few coaches have. That, definitely, is an area where more work needs to be done.

How can the government help to bring forward more Dutees?

Everything cannot be just left to the government. If schools, colleges and universities paid more attention to track and field (more than what they are doing now), bring in top coaches to nurture talent, we would have more youngsters in sport. Importantly, there is a need for more track clubs across the country and that is where the government can come forward and fund them.

Why are we as a country fascinated with cricket and fail to give due respect to other forms of sports?

Nothing wrong with the fascination. In Europe, they are fascinated with football, in the US, with the NFL and so on. Every sport needs to find its own pocket of respect and not just look forward to doles from the government. If other sports looked inwards professionally and created a good management system, they would all improve and India would benefit.

What are you working on next?

I am on the last chapter of an untitled book on Prithipal Singh, the triple Olympic medalist (1964 Gold medal-winner, field hockey), who was murdered in 1983. It should be out soon, probably this month.