“Arjuna Award Will Push Me To Perform Better”: Dutee Chand

Ace sprinter Dutee Chand will receive the coveted the Arjuna award on August 29.

Chand, cricketer Ishant Sharma, shuttler Satwick Sairaj Rankireddy and shooter Manu Bhaker are among the 27 athletes to receive the award. Five other athletes will receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the Sports Ministry confirmed on Friday.

"First of all, I would like to thank the state government for recommending me for this year's Arjuna Awards. I'm very happy and proud that I will get the prestigious award in 2020. I have worked hard for this and bagged many medals in the last three years," Chand said to news agency ANI.

"These awards motivate athlete to achieve more in upcoming tournaments. I will motivate me for the next year's Tokyo Olympics and it will act as an inspiration for young athletes. I will try hard to win more medals for the country and make India proud," Chand added.

Dutee Chand won silver medals in both 100m and 200m races in Asian Games 2018. She also won bronze medals in 100m and 4x100m relay at the 2017 Asian Athletes Championships. She is the first Indian athlete to win in the World University Games.

President Ram Nath Kovind will present the awards at a specially organized function through video conferencing from Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29.