Dutee Chand
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100m race: First sprinter after PT Usha to qualify in 36 years
The 20-year-old sprinter from Odisha scripted a fairytale comeback after qualifying for the Rio Summer Games. She ran the 100 meters at an international meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 11.24 seconds, well under the Olympic qualifying standard of 11.32 seconds before bettering that for the silver and a place in Brazil. Before that she clocked 11.33 seconds and broke the 16-year-old national record of 11.38 seconds in the 2016 Federation Cup.
But her journey was not smooth. Days before the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the ace sprinter was found to have 'hyperandrogenism' and was banned from racing. However, Dutee who won a landmark 'gender case' the next year and charted her comeback.
Eyes on Rio, she has a long career to look forward to.
Jitu Rai
Shooting: World No. 1 pistol shooter
Jitu Rai is one of the brightest prospects of this medal. He achieved his career best ranking of number 4 in 50m pistol event in the world in July 2014. The current World No. 1 in the 50m air pistol who rose to the top spot for the second time now holds the No. 7 ranking in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol.
In 2014, he scaled new peaks by winning the gold medal in both Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Last week, he pipped three-time Olympic champion Jongoh Jin of Korea to claim his sixth World Cup medal and the second this year after winning one in Bangkok.
