KIUG: Priya Mohan beats Olympian Dutee Chand for 200m gold
May 02, 2022
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 2 : Priya Mohan, who had won a gold in the women's 400m race on Sunday, beat the Olympian Dutee Chand to drive the Gold medal home in the 200m race at the Khelo India University Games on Monday.
A majority of the day's action was at the athletics venue, with events rolling off each other, all to peak with the women's 200m in the morning. Among the contenders was Priya Mohan, representing Jain University who had won gold in the 400m with remarkable ease.
Despite the win, Mohan was unhappy with her performance, holding back tears when talking about how the rain had wreaked havoc on her plans to set a personal best and maybe break a record.
"I'd prepared really hard for this and I was in peak form, but the weather wreaked havoc. I was hoping to do a 51 in the 400m. This is a great track, my home track, I'd called all my friends, but, well, sometimes things don't go your way," said Priya Mohan.
Putting aside the disappointment of not having broken the record in her pet distance, the 19-year-old picked up right where she left in the 200m early in the morning. The race would see her face off against the 100m winner Dutee Chand.
Mohan had won gold in the event at the All India Inter-University Games earlier this year, but Chand's absence in the final had served as a dampener and raised hopes that this, would be a clash for the ages.
While Chand raced out of the blocks to take the lead into the first 100m, Mohan ran a brilliant bend to overtake and cement her stature in the event. While happy to have beaten Chand, Mohan expressed disappointment again at not having broken her own bests -- proof if any was needed, of the hunger in an athlete so young.
"I'll be travelling to Europe now to try and qualify for the Senior Worlds, and improve my timing. This is a good start, gives me confidence..." she said.
