Sprinter Dutee Chand resumed outdoor training after months of lockdown, but recently revealed that she is now facing financial issues in going on with the training. Taking to her Facebook account, Dutee wrote that she is putting her car for sale as she wants to collect funds and prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, next year. Former tennis player Somdev Devvarman picked up the story and shared on Twitter saying, "When our athletes win, it's almost always despite the system, not because of it."
This news quickly escalated and started making headlines and Dutee took the post down. Later on Wednesday, Dutee clarified her previous statement about selling her BMW car. She shared a statement on her Twitter page clarifying that she was indeed planning to sell the car but not only because of the reason of lack of funds for the Olympics. Further, talking about how the car costs her a lot every month, Dutee said that she doesn't "have the resources to maintain luxury cars" and feels that it is a "spendthrift expense" on her part.
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"I never expressed that I am selling it to fund my training. Odisha Government and my own KIIT University have always supported me. This does not deny the fact that my training is very expensive, especially for the 2021 Olympics. I wanted to make a point that this money could be diverted for my training," the 24-year-old athlete's statement read.
She also said that selling her car could give her finances a bit of 'breathing space.'
What You Should Know
- It was earlier reported that Dutee Chand is selling her car because she needs funds to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.
- In a later statement, she clarified that she was selling the car because she doesn't "have the resources to maintain luxury cars" and feels that it is a "spendthrift expense" on her part.
- Sports minister Kiren Rijiju talked to her about the matter and said that "she is fine" and she'll let him know if "she needs additional help."
The Asian Games silver medalist had earlier told IANS that she had spent a lot of money on the training for Tokyo Olympics, which is now stands postponed. "I had started my Olympic training in October last year. I had set-up a team to help me with my training -- from coach, fitness trainer, physio and running partner. From October to February I had spent 30 lakh on my training," Dutee had said.
Dutee broke the national record in 100-meter sprint heats. At the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi in October last year, she bettered her personal best with a timing of 11.22 seconds. She went on to win gold in the finals.
Taking the circumstances into consideration, sports minister Kiren Rijiju assured that he already had a chat with the sprinter and said that "she is fine." He further notified that "inaccurate reportings can create wrong impressions about our genuine efforts," India.TV reported"
Feature Image Credit: The Hindu
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