Odisha sprint star Dutee Chand clinched a golden double by winning both the 100m and 200m eventsin the 23rd Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championship, which was held at NS NIS, Patiala (Punjab) from March 15 to 19, 2019.

An eight-member Odisha squad, fielded by Odisha Athletics Association, also bagged one silver and one bronze in the championship, which served as the last qualifying opportunity for the Asian Championships, scheduled to be held in Doha from April 21 to 24, 2019.

Purnima Hembram won the siver medal in women heptathlon with a total score of 5597 points, while the bronze medal for Odisha was claimed by Jauna Murmu in 400m hurdles with a timing of 57.58 seconds.

Dutee first won the 200m gold, clocking 23.35 seconds and then added 100m title with a timing of 11.45 seconds. She, however, fell short of qualifying mark in both the events.

Other five Odisha competitors in the fray were: Pragya Prasanti Sahu (women 100m hurdles), Kishore Kumar Jena, Chinmaya Ranjan Jena (both men javelin), Amiya Kumar Mallick (men 100m) and Ashish Kumar Patra (men long jump).
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PHOTO: Odisha sprinter Dutee Chand (Centre) with other 100m medalists in Patiala on March 18, 2019.