From running barefoot on dusty village roads to competing on the grand stage of the Olympics, Dutee Chand’s journey embodies sheer grit and determination. Born into a handloom weaver’s family in Odisha’s Jajpur district on February 3, 1996, Dutee grew up as one of seven sisters and a brother in a household where every meal was a battle.
Her father’s meager earnings from weaving clothes barely kept the family afloat. Inspired by her elder sister Saraswati, a state-level sprinter, Dutee took to athletics. With no money for school fees, Saraswati advised her: excel in sports, become school champion, and education would follow, along with a job via sports quota.
Shoes? A running track? Luxuries Dutee couldn’t afford. She trained on village paths, riverbanks, and streets, her bare feet pounding the earth. In 2005, selection into a sports hostel changed everything. Under coach Chitaranjan Mahapatra’s guidance, she won her first national medal in 2007.
International glory came after a six-year wait. In 2012, she claimed the under-18 national 100m title. The next year, as a junior, she snagged bronze at the Asian Championships. 2014 brought double gold at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships. But dreams of Commonwealth Games shattered when the Athletics Federation of India sidelined her over hyperandrogenism.
Dutee fought back. Her 2015 appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted the ban. She shattered records: 7.28 seconds for 60m at the 2016 Asian Indoor Championships, then 11.33s for 100m at Federation Cup, eclipsing Ruchita Mistry. At the International Meeting Goiannis Kosanov Memorial, she twice broke her own 100m national record with 11.24s, qualifying for Rio Olympics 2016—though she bowed out in heats.
Asian Games 2018 silver in 100m echoed P.T. Usha’s 1986 feat. Tokyo 2020 saw her qualify for both 100m and 200m. Today, the two-time Olympian inspires millions, proving resilience trumps adversity.