KIIT Girl Sprints Into Rio Olympics Qualification

Ace sprinter from KIIT University, Dutee Chand achieved the coveted spot for Rio 2016 Olympics in the women’s 100m event after meeting the qualification mark at the 26th G. Kosanov Memorial Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 25, 2016.

In a scintillating run in the women’s 100m heats, Dutee beat the Rio Olympics qualification mark of 11.32 seconds by 2 seconds. In the process, she bettered her own national record of 11.33 seconds set in National Federation Cup earlier this year. It is a historic achievement as Dutee has become the first Indian women to qualify for the coveted 100m event since the introduction of a qualifying mark in the segment. Legendary athlete PT Usha had qualified for the same event in 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS congratulated her for the achievement and wished her good luck for the Rio Olympics. “We have been encouraging her for the last six years,” said Samanta. Ranjit Nayak, a student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), has already secured qualification in the Rio Olympics archery event, informed Dr. Samanta, who promotes sports in a big way and has helped numerous students from KIIT & KISS to achieve success at national and international sports. KIIT has also been supporting Dutee, who is a student of KIIT School of Law, to achieve a string of successes for the last five years.

While thanking KIIT University and its founder for all the support, Dutee vowed to perform even better and not let anyone down in the Olympics.