Tokyo Olympics 2020: Kamalpreet Kaur qualifies for the finals after finishing second in discus qualification

Kamalpreet Kaur, a discus thrower, had one of the best performances by an Indian in the Olympics, despite the fact that it was in a qualifying round, when she advanced to the finals of the present Games after coming second here on Saturday.

Source: News Headlines

Kamalpreet Kaur, 25, competed in qualification B and threw the discus 64 metres in her third and final attempt to become one of only two automatic qualifiers for the final round, the other being American Valarie Allman.

The Indian finished ahead of world champion Yaime Perez (63.18) of Cuba and defending gold medalist Sandra Perkovic (63.75m) of Croatia. Perkovic came in third and Perez came in seventh.

Veteran Seema Punia, on the other hand, was forced to withdraw after placing sixth in qualification A and 16th overall with a below-par best throw of 60.57m.

Kaur started with a 60.29m throw, then improved to 63.97m before throwing 64m on her third attempt. Three throws are given to each contender. Those who reach 64 metres or have placed in the top 12 in each of the two qualifying rounds proceed to the final. This year, the Punjab athlete has been in excellent form, breaking the 65m barrier twice.

She threw 65.06m during the Federation Cup in March to break the national record and become the first Indian to breach the 65m mark.

Then, in June, she broke her own national record with a throw of 66.59m at the Indian Grand Prix-4, putting her in sixth place in the world. With a throw of 61.15 metres, season leader Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands failed to make the final round cut. She has a season best of 70.22 metres, while Allman has a season best of 70.01 metres.

Punia, who had booked a last minute Olympics berth, was way below her season and personal best marks. She fouled her first throw and had 60.57m and 58.93m in her next two attempts to make an exit from what would be her last Olympics.

With a throw of 63.72m at the National Inter-State Championships in Patiala on June 29, the 38-year-old Haryana athlete qualified for the Olympics on the day of the qualification deadline.

She has a personal best of 64.84 metres, which she achieved in 2004. She has only recently returned to competition after competing at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where she won a bronze medal.

Punia has been training outside of the national camp, primarily in Russia and its neighbours. Alexander Sinitsyn, her personal coach, had accompanied her to Tokyo from Jakarta.

The seasoned discus thrower was competing in his fourth Olympics. She’s never made it to the last round before. She made her Olympic debut in Athens in 2004 with a best throw of 60.64 metres.

In 2012 and 2016 Olympics, she had disappointing performances of 61.91m and 57.58m. Punia has won laurels for the country in the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

She has won a medal each in all four CWGs since 2006 — three silver and one bronze in all. She also won a gold and a bronze in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games respectively.

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