Queen Sprint and the fastest woman in India, Dutee Chand, put her prized possession, BMW, for sale on social media to cover her training expenses amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Dutee turned to social media and posted photos of his luxury BMW looking for potential buyers. However, he later deleted the post.
Dutee owns a 2015 BMW 3 Series model, which he had bought for Rs 30 lakh. However, Dutee is now willing to sell her car to cover her training expenses.
“No sponsor is willing to spend on me because of this pandemic. I need the money and have decided to sell it to cover my training and diet expenses as I prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, which have moved to July 11, 2021, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, “Dutee Chand told India Today.
“Even people in the (state) government say they are going through a financial crisis.”
When asked if he had received the BMW as a gift or if he bought it on his own, Dutee said:
“I bought it after receiving a cash reward of Rs 3 crore from Orissa CM Naveen Pattnaik for my achievement in the Asian Games. With that money, I built my house and bought a BMW car.”
After the Facebook post, comments started pouring in for government intervention to help her.
Later the sprinter queen removed the post.
“Since I have two other cars with me, there is also not enough space for 3 cars in my residence, so I want to sell one.”
Dutee has shared the photos of his car on his Facebook page with a message on Odia “I want to sell my BMW car. If anyone wants to buy, contact me on Messenger.”
The government had also awarded Rs 50 lakh for her training for the Tokyo Olympics, she said, she spends around Rs 5 lakh per month on her training, which includes salaries for the coach, physical therapist, dietitian, and other purposes.
“I used up all my money. Sponsors are now hard to come by due to the Covid-19 pandemic for my training for the Tokyo Olympics, which has been moved to July 2021 due to the Covid19 outbreak
“I need money for my training expenses and training in Germany, I decided to sell my luxury car,” added Dutee Chand.
Dutee had brought many laurels for the country, most recently breaking the national record at the National Open Athletics in Ranchi in October 2019 when he broke his own national 100-meter record.
The sprinter recorded 11.22 seconds in the opening semifinals, erasing her previous record of 11.26 seconds.
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