With a best throw of 63.7m, India's Kamalpreet Kaur finished 6th in the rain-interrupted Women's Discus Throw Final.
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India’s Kamalpreet Kaur finished sixth in the rain-interrupted Women’s Discus Throw final on Monday. Her best throw reached a distance of 63.7m. Krishna Poonia had registered a distance of 63.62m in the London Olympics, which Kamalpreet has now surpassed. The 25-year-old bows out of Tokyo 2020 with India’s best-ever finish in discus throw as well as best throw of 63.70m. Kamalpreet recorded three foul attempts out of a total of six throws. However, she managed to reach the final eight contestants following three attempts, which is certainly a good sign going into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kamalpreet attempted her best to impress among the eight finalists, who were handed three more throws. However, the competition was too intense resulting in her finishing sixth overall. She was one of the only two Asian athletes in the final, the other being China’s Chen Yang who finished 10th. The event was interrupted by rain, resulting in a reasonable delay. That may well have played a role in the eventual scoreline, as the concentration of the athletes may well have been hampered. The judges allowed the event to go on even when it was raining heavily for some time before opting to halt, which generated a lot of controversy.
Kamalpreet delivered a stellar performance at the qualification round of discus throw. The 25-year-old from Punjab had a throw-in of 64 meters, ensuring she directly qualifies for the finals. She was only the second among 31 athletes to secure direct qualification. Kamalpreet’s first attempt was at 60.29m but significantly improved in the second, scoring 63.97.
With a reassuring nod from the official, her coach became more satisfied and knew the final attempt by the athlete would be a miraculous one, and it was, breaching the 64-meter mark. Needless to say, it wasn’t anything short of near perfection. Kamalpreet Kaur finished second behind USA’s Valarie Allman who threw the discus a whopping 66.42 meters far. Both the athletes from this Pool received direct qualification to the finals.
“I was feeling nervous before the throw. But after the first attempt, I felt better. By the third throw, I was confident and that is why I touched 64m. I think I will be confident during the final. I feel I can better my personal best (66.59m at Indian GP4 in June) and win a medal for the country. That is my sole target now,” said the athlete in an interaction with PTI.
Kamalpreet had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 65.06 meters during the Athletics Federation Cup earlier this year. Her career-best came at the Indian Grand Prix in June, throwing a 66.59m.
Indian equestrian Fouaad Mirza scripted history on Monday as he qualified for the final of the equestrian jumping event. Mirza became the first-ever Indian athlete to do so. The equestrian has performed consistently throughout the Tokyo Olympics, and his qualification to the final is a very good result for India.
Mirza had qualified in 25th place from the qualifiers. Only the top 25 athletes in qualifying make it through to the final so it was a very nerve-wracking experience for Mirza.
