'Kamalpreet Kaur has "bright chances" of a podium finish at Tokyo Olympics': Dronacharya awardee Virender Poonia

Virender Poonia, Dronacharya awardee in athletics, said he was impressed by the performance of India’s leading women's discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur in a recent domestic competition held in Patiala.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Virender Poonia said:

“Kamalpreet Kaur has bright chances of a podium finish at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2019, she was in the range of 61m. Now she has crossed 65m. It will all depend on her mental and physical preparation.”

He believes the top six to eight athletes in the final of the Olympic Games are at par. On a given day, anyone can win.

“Leading six to eight athletes are of a similar caliber. It all depends on who gets the right throw on the given day,” said Virender.

According to Virender, the results of the women’s throwing events at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games have been unpredictable. He said this is because the standard throwing equipment used in the women’s competition is light in weight.

He added:

“The weight of the discus is 1kg while the javelin's weight is 600gm. That is why it is difficult to predict who will win a medal at the Olympics.”

The athletics coach from Rajasthan cited the women’s discus final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games to prove his point.

“Nothing went according to books in Beijing and London Olympics. Stephanie Brown Trafton of the USA won gold at the Beijing Olympic Games with a throw of 64.74m. Four years later, she failed to defend her title at the London Olympics. She finished seventh with a throw of 63.62m,” said Virender.

Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic raised the bar at the London Olympic Games. Her gold medal-winning throw of 69.11m was more than 4m better than Stephanie’s gold winning effort at the 2008 Olympics.

At the 2012 London Games, China’s Li Yanfeng won silver with 67.22m, while Cuba’s Yarelys Barrios won bronze with a throw of 66.38m.

India’s Krishna Poonia finished sixth with a throw of 63.62m. She became the first Indian woman to enter the final of women's discus throw at the London Games.

Krishna Poonia at the 19th Commonwealth Games

Virender, Krishna's coach and husband, said:

“We had taken into account the previous Olympic Games results and trained accordingly. But at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Krishna finished sixth with a distance of 63.64m.”

Krishna won back-to-back bronze medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and 2010 Guangzhou. The best moment of her career came at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games when she became the first Indian female athlete to win gold in the discus throw.

“In May, 2012, Krishna recorded a throw of 64.76m in the USA. It was a national record. We were hopeful of a podium finish at the London Olympics as Krishna was hurling the discus to a distance of 64m in training prior to the Olympics. But nothing went as per our plans,” Virender added.