Rio-bound Dharambir not overawed by Bolt's presence in 200m

New Delhi, Jul 20 () Dharambir Singh, first Indian in 36 years to qualify for the 200 metres event at the Olympics, believes he can significantly better his qualifying time and insists that he won't be overawed by the presence of sprint king Usain Bolt in the same competition at the Rio Games. "Usain Bolt to me will be just another competitor at theGames. I am not going into the Games thinking I will get tomeet him. I am rather focussed on the my own preparation. Iseriously feel I can break sub 20 second barrier in Rio,"Dharambir told today.The athlete, hailing from Ajayab village in Rohtakdistrict of Haryana, is also not feeling the burden ofheightened expectations despite being the first from thecountry to make the 200m Olympic cut in more than threedecades. He qualified for Rio Games by clocking 20.45 for anational record in the Indian Grand Prix held in Bengaluruearlier this month."It doesn't surprise me that I have qualified. I workedhard for eight years and finally have realised my goal. Nowthe aim is to give my best and be competitive in 200 metres."Though it is true that nobody could qualify for so long,I see a lot of Indian athletes breaking the barrier in theyears to come. There is a lot of talent in our country," saidthe 27-year-old.Crossing the sub 20 second mark will be tough for theconfident Indian. It is to be kept in mind that he recorded20.45 little more than a week ago, breaking his own record of20.66 set in Wuhan last year."My event begins on August 16 so I still have time tobetter my timings further. I have analysed the competition Ihave. Obviously it is not going to be easy but if the weatheris conducive and I am able to give my 100 percent, I mightjust hit the sub 20 second mark," said Dharambir.Bolt had clocked 19.19 seconds to create a new 200 metresworld record in the 2009 World Championships. The Jamaicanalso holds the 100 metre record of 9.58 seconds. BS AHAH