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regular-article-logo Saturday, 23 November 2024

Tokyo Olympics: Kamalpreet Kaur finishes sixth in women's discus final, misses podium finish

Makes best attempt of 63.70m

Our Bureau Published 02.08.21, 06:47 PM
Kamalpreet Kaur.

Kamalpreet Kaur. Twitter/@VVSLaxman

Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur finished a creditable sixth in her first Olympics in a rain-interrupted final while sprinter Dutee Chand ended her campaign on a disappointing note by failing to qualify for the 200m semifinals here on Monday.

The 25-year-old Kaur, who has qualified for the final as second best on Saturday, was never in the running for a medal in the eight rounds of competition which was interrupted by rain for more than an hour.

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Her best throw of 63.70m in the third round saw her finished at sixth and equal 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Krishna Poonia's performance in the 2012 London Olympics.

Throughout the competition, Kaur, who was without her personal coach, looked nervous and short of confidence as she lacked international exposure. She has taken part in World University Games in 2017, her lone international competition.

It was a tough competition for all the participants as rain started pouring down towards the end of the second round and a few throwers taking their attempts in spite of slippery circle.

Rain stopped after an hour but the humidity seemed to have affected the throwers' performance and they have to be cautious as the approach area to the circle was wet.

With her right shoulder heavily strapped, Kaur began with a 61.62m effort before fouling her next attempt. That put her under pressure and on the verge of being eliminated as she was ninth just before her third throw.

But she gave her best and came up with a 63.70m, that saved her and put her in the sixth position as the bottom four out of the 12 finalists were eliminated after three rounds.

Not much changed in the position of the throwers in the final three rounds. Kaur fouled the fourth throw and then had a 61.37m in her penultimate attempt before sending the discus out of sector in the final one.

After qualifying for the final on Saturday, Kaur had told PTI that she was having minor pain on her shoulder and knee but not to an extent which would severely impact her performance.

A farmer's daughter at Punjab's Kabarwala village, Kaur had raised hopes of India's elusive athletics medal after finishing second in the qualification round on Saturday with a best throw of 64m.

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