Dhanalakshmi knew she has to rise above the Dutee Chand - Hima Das competition

Tamil Nadu sprinter Dhanalakshmi became an overnight sensation last month after her performance at the 24th Senior National Federation Cup in Patiala. She rightly deserved all the spotlight after all she broke the record in 200m set by veteran sprinter PT Usha 23 years ago. Besides, she also went past two most popular women athletes of India — Hima Das and Dutee Chand — to win the 100m finals.

Clocking 11:39 seconds, Dhanalakshmi won the gold in the final, while Dutee Chand was second with 11.58 seconds. Hima Das was disqualified for a false start.

In a recent interview given to The Times of India, Dhanalakshmi admitted that she knew from before that in the 100m race, it would be a competition between Hima Das and Dutee Chand. And despite their success, Dhanalakshmi was determined to put up a stellar performance. In the interview, she said, "My hard work has paid off. But I shouldn't be content with this. I have to do better. I had clocked 11.39 seconds, the time I clocked in the 100m finals, even during my training. It was expected to be a fight between Dutee Chand and Hima Das. But, my coach was confident that I would perform well in the finals. He kept motivating me by saying that I would be in the limelight once the event is over. And it happened."

Dhanalakshmi has been called up for the national camp in Patiala. The 4x100 women athletes are training there with the aim of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Inputs from Times of India.