Dhanalakshmi Sekhar

Dhanalakshmi Sekar (born 5 June 1998) is an Indian athlete from Tamil Nadu. She rose to limelight after beating veteran Indian sprinters Dutee Chand and Hima Das in the 200m event at the 2021 Federation Cup. She made her debut appearance at the Olympics representing India at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Biography Danalakshmi was born as the younger child in her family. Her father died at her young age and her mother began working as a domestic labourer to run the family. She has two elder sisters and one of them died in 2021 due to health issues.

Career She initially wanted to find a decent job for her living and her family. In 2017, she was persuaded and convinced to take up the sport of athletics by former Tamil Nadu sprinter Manikandan Arunmugam.

She competed at the 2018 Tamil Nadu State Championships and claimed third place in both women's 100m and 200m events. She claimed a bronze medal in the women's 200m event at the 2019 Federation Cup. She also clinched a bronze medal in the women's 200m event during the 2019 Inter-State Athletics Championships which was held in Lucknow. During the 2019 Inter-State Championships, she won the gold medal with the Tamil Nadu state team in the women's relay event. She achieved it after winning the 100m event at the 24th Federation Cup.