Duti Chand of Odisha brought laurel to the state by winning a bronze medal in the Women’s 200m race at the 20th Asian Athletics Championship in Pune. This is the first time Duti won a medal at any international event. She failed to win the silver medal just by 0.11 seconds.

Earlier this year, Duti had won three gold medals at the 58th national school championship in Uttar Pradesh. She had also received a Tata Nano car for her superlative performance in the championship. Duti had become the fastest runner winning three gold medals in 100, 400 and 200m race in the U-19 Women category.

Duti will participate in the World Youth Athletics Championship to be held in Ukraine during July 10-14. She is hopeful of getting the gold medal in that championship. The Odisha Olympic Association and KIIT have announced a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each for Duti. KIIT has also decided to sponsor her preparations and expenses during the competitions.