Akhaji Chand, mother of India's ace sprinter Dutee Chand, on Thursday lighted an "eternal lamp" at a temple wishing her daughter's success at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Akhaji Chand offered prayer to the village deity at Chaka Gopalpur village under Rasulpur block earlier in the day. She then lit the "akhand deepa" at the altar of the deity. She is now staying in the shrine, guarding the lamp so that it burns uninterrupted till Friday when her daughter will compete against other athletes in Round 1 of the Women's 100m event. Fellow villagers have also offered prayers to the deity for her success in the Olympics.
Dutee, the fastest Indian woman, will run in the 100-metre event which is scheduled between 8.45 am and 9.33 am IST on Friday. The semi-finals and final of the event are scheduled to be held on July 31.
The sprinter will also take part in the 200-metre event on August 2. Round 1 and semi-finals of this event are scheduled to take place on August 2 while the final will be held on August 3.
Earlier on June 21, she had set a national record in the Women's 100m event by clocking 11.17 seconds at the Indian Grand Prix-IV organised by the Athletics Federation of India in Patiala.