Hima, Anas, Dutee herald India’s track turnaround

“I don’t know what happened to me in the final. I could’ve run better but I’m happy with silver,” said Anas.

And finally, the 22-year-old Chand, who fought against and successfully overturned a hyperandrogenism ban after qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016, showed her sprit was far from crushed by the public battle against arbitrary gender classification in sport.

Chand missed the gold by just 0.02 seconds in a photo finish, clocking 11.32. The last time an Indian won a 100m medal at the Asian Games was in 1998 when Rachita Mistry won bronze. The last time India won a silver in 100m was in 1986 when PT Usha finished second in Seoul (even the great Usha could not clinch an Asian gold). “People said many things about me. The same girl today came back and won a medal for the country. It is really big achievement for me,” said Dutee.

The accolades were led by none other than Usha, who won three individual gold medals in Seoul 1996 for India’s best track performance by a single athlete.

“What an excellent show! It will inspire youngsters back home because it will help them believe that we also can do well in sprints. The 100m was a real close decision and we could have won gold. It was an excellent sprint by Dutee. She had a point to prove, and she did. It’s not easy for a girl to come back after everything she faced in the last two years,” Usha, 54, said.

“Both Anas and Das did well, but Dutee’s performance stood out.”

DUTEE CHAND MISSED THE GOLD MEDAL BY JUST 0.02 SECONDS IN A PHOTO FINISH, CLOCKING 11.32.