Indian sprint queens– Dutee Chand and Hima Das - and a rookie S Dhanalakshmi are ready for an epic showdown in 100m final in the ongoing 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championship in National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala today (Tuesday). (More Sports News)
The Federation Cup is being held from March 15 to 19 The 5-day event will see 38 events and 600 athletes in action.
With the Tokyo qualification still on, this event is also serving as an opportunity for athletes to attain Olympic qualification standards. Hima and Dutee will clash at 4:20 PM IST.
Duttee Chand needs 11.15 seconds to make the cut for the Olympics, while Assam’s DSP Hima Das, who will be competing in 200m as well, will also be in action. Giving these seasoned athletes a challenge will be Tamil Nadu’s S Dhanalakshmi.
Dhanalakshmi produced a stunning race in the women’s 100m semifinals. She threw down the gauntlet for Dutee Chand (Odisha) with an 11.38-second sprint.
Taking to the track after Assam’s Hima Das won her heats in 11.63 seconds, Dutee Chand clocked 11.51 without straining too much.
Monday on Day 1, in the men's 100m semifinals, Gurindervir Singh (Punjab) set a personal best time of 10.30 seconds. It was the third fastest time by an Indian sprinter behind the 10.21 clocked by Anil Kumar in 2000 and the 10.26 by Amiya Kumar Mallick in 2016 and Sanjeet Singh in 2018.
While Annu Rani bettered her own javelin throw national record but still missed the Tokyo Olympics qualification mark by more than half a metre.
When and where to watch the Federation Cup live
The live streaming of the Federation Cup is available on the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) official YouTube channel.
