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When debutant Olympian Kamalpreet Kaur entered the discus cage with her throwing right arm heavily strapped and threw a mediocre 60.29 meters in her 1st qualification attempt, many would have feared the worst for her.
However, the 25-year-old prodigy from Sri Muktsar Sahib province of Punjab got her act together in the next couple of rounds to script history at the Tokyo Olympic stadium for India.
The past Olympic cycle had seen improved performances from Indian athletes in the throwing disciplines, especially in javelin, with Neeraj Chopra leading the charge. However, the performance of the Indian discus throwers, who had always produced impressive results in the past at the Olympics, was not up to the mark in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics qualification cycle.
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The likes of Vikas Gowda and Krishna Poonia had retired from competitive sports and the younger lot, including Navjeet Dhillon and Kamalpreet Kaur, were not able to deliver on the big stage. Although Navjeet won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth games, her performances were not consistent enough.
Kamalpreet Kaur too was putting up some impressive marks on the national circuit, but her performances outside of India were not up to the mark. Her qualification chances for the Tokyo Olympics were looking slim. However, the lockdown came as a blessing in disguise for her.
Kamalpreet Kaur rediscovered herself during COVID-19 lockdown
Kamalpreet Kaur was throwing the 1 kgdisc to a distance of 61 odd meters in the pre-COVID era. This kind of distance might have reaped rewards at the Asian or Commonwealth level events. However, to be successful at the world level, she needed to reach the 65-meter mark.
During the lockdown, Kamalpreet Kaur went into introspection mode. She worked very hard to make sure she reached the levels which no Indian had reached before.
In her 1st competition after the lockdown in 2021, her only aim was to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics by achieving the direct qualification mark of 63.50 meters. She arrived in Patiala as the defending champion in the women's discus throw event at the Federation Cup. However, she was not there to just defend her title. Kamalpreet Kaur was there to re-write the history books.
First Indian women to breach 65 meters in discus throw
In her 1st attempt at the discus throw finals of the Federation Cup, Kamalpreet Kaur absolutely obliterated the Indian national record with a throw of 65.06 meters. It was her only legitimate throw of the day but it was good enough to book a spot for the Tokyo Olympics.
After qualifying for the quadrennial games in Tokyo, Kamalpreet Kaur started to work even harder to achieve Olympic glory. She bettered her own national record of 65.06 meters at the Indian Grand Prix 4 event by throwing the discus to a distance of 66.59 meters.
Kamalpreet Kaur's progress didn't please some of her rivals. Fellow thrower Seema Punia accused her of having an unfair advantage due to hyperandrogenism. These comments did affect her mentally, but Kamalpreet kept her cool and went on to have an Olympic qualification round to savor.
An Olympic debut to remember for Kamalpreet Kaur
Kamalpreet Kaur was to start in the B qualification group of the women's discus throw event at the Tokyo Olympics. She made a rather nervy start to the biggest international competition of her career with an opening round throw of 60.29 meters.
However, Kamalpreet Kaur launched the discus to a distance of 63.97 meters in her 2nd round attempt to move into the 2nd position, behind Valarie Allman of the USA who achieved the mark of 66.42 meters in her 1st attempt, of the qualification rounds across both A and B groups. She fell shy of the automatic qualification mark by just 3 centimeters with that attempt.
Her 2nd attempt had virtually secured her a berth in the finals of the women's discus throw event, but she still went for her 3rd attempt to achieve the direct qualification mark of 64 meters. Although unnecessary, she wanted to get the message across that a new kid had arrived on the block.
Kamalpreet Kaur launched the 1kg disc flush at the 64 meter mark on her 3rd attempt to qualify for the finals in the 2nd spot. This was the first time post-independence that an Indian track and field athlete had qualified for an Olympic final finishing in the 2nd spot across all the heats or qualification groups of a particular event.
In the finals, Kamalpreet Kaur will be up against some of the world's best athletes in the women's discus throw event. She will have her work cut out against the likes of defending Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic, defending world champion Yamie Perez and the in-form Valarie Allman. However, Kamalpreet Kaur has certainly made her presence felt with her performance in the qualification round.
Kamalpreet Kaur will enter the finals as a dark horse who has nothing to lose. She may or may not win a medal, but she has got this opportunity to compete against the best on the biggest possible stage for an athlete which in itself is an achievement.
The women's discus throw final is slated to take place on the 2nd of August, 2021. The event will start at 1630 hrs IST.
