Krishna Poonia crosses the 63m barrier

India’s top discus thrower Krishna Poonia gave herself something to cheer about ahead of the Olympics as she crossed the 63 metres mark in the Woodford Green Open Graded Meeting organised by the Woodford Green and Essex Ladies Athletics Club at Ashton Playing Field ground here.

Krishna, who had won the Commonwealth Games gold, registered 63.16 metres during the event here Tuesday. Krishna hoped she could cross the 65m barrier during the Games.

Her husband and coach Virender was also happy with the result.

“Today’s throws show we are on track to deliver peak results during the Olympic Games. Hitting big distance in the opening rounds is essential to remain in contention and that’s what Krishna achieved today with a 63m opener,” said Virender.

But Poonia still has a long way to go as her fellow competitors have gone well above the 65 metres mark.

Germany’s Nadine Muller, favourite to win the gold in London and a silver medallist at last year’s World Championships, has a best this season of 68.89 metres. After Nadine, Cuba’s Yarelys Barrios (68.03 metres) has the second best distance while China’s Yanfeng Li (65.85 metres) and Jian Tan (64.90 metres) have also produced better marks than Poonia.