Tokyo 2020: Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur finishes sixth

Kamalpreet Kaur will carry back fond memories from the Tokyo Olympics. If qualifying for the discus throw final with a throw of 64 metres was huge, two-time Olympic medallist Sandra Perković from Croatia congratulating her made it even more special. On Monday, the 25-year-old, making her Olympic debut, got her chance to compete against Perković on a rain-soaked night at the Olympic Stadium and managed to hold her own. With a confident opening throw of 61.62, Kaur slipped into the top eight out of 12 finalists. After all the finalists finish three throws each, the top eight get to throw three more to decide the medallists. At this stage, Kaur improved to 63.70 to finish sixth. It is the best throw by an Indian woman at the Olympics, bettering Krishna Poonia’s 63.62m from 2012 London.

“She (Perković) is someone who has inspired me,” Kaur said after the final. “I was in the dining hall when I saw her. She left her food, came to me and congratulated me. It was like a dream come true for me.”

The discus final was interrupted by rain and throwers had a tough time on a slippery circle. American Valerie Allman won gold with a best effort that sent the disc over 68.98m. Perković, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion, finished 4th with a throw of 65.01.

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“I have never done well in the rain,” Kaur said. “In the Asian Games too, I did not do well because of rain. I wanted to give my personal best and return with a medal, but that could not happen. I am tall and bulky so in the rain it gets difficult, you always have a fear of falling and injuring yourself.” Kaur has a personal best of 66.59, which she threw in June in India to rewrite her own national record. Kaur, who comes from a small farming village called Kabarwala in Punjab, is the first Indian woman to throw over 65m.

“It has been a tough journey for me. In my village nobody knows anything about sports, physios, nutrition. It has taken a long time to reach here,” she said. “Despite that I am happy that I could surpass Krishna Poonia’s mark. I started in discus seeing her. She messaged me yesterday and wished me the best. I hope I will make her proud one day with a medal.”

Kaur said she was also nervous in the beginning because of the enormity of the occasion.

“I was very excited as it was my first Olympics and nervous at the same time,” she said. “I could have done better with a few more international competitions. It is a good lesson for me.”

Kaur also revealed her interest in cricket and that she would want to take up the sport competitively.

“In the future I will play cricket,” said Kaur with a smile. “I love batting and bowling fast, but I can’t bowl now because then it can hamper my discus training. I came to discus because nobody told me how to go about cricket.”