The 38-year-old Haryana athlete had made it to the Olympics on the day of qualification deadline with a throw of 63.72m during the National Inter-State Championships in Patiala on June 29. She fouled her first throw and had 60.57m and 58.93m in her next two attempts to make an exit from what would be her last Olympics. Punia, who had booked a last minute Olympics berth, was way below her season and personal best marks. She has a season's best of 70.22m while Allman is second best this year at 70.01m. Season leader Jorinde van Klinken of Netherlands failed to make the final round cut with a modest throw of 61.15m. Then in June, she bettered her own national record with a throw of 66.59m during the Indian Grand Prix-4 to sit at world number six. She threw 65.06m during the Federation Cup in March to break the national record and become the first Indian to breach the 65m mark. She became just the second #IND woman to reach the final in the event at an #Olympics after Krishna Poonia in 2012 /u9oKFNiK7m Here's how Kamalpreet Kaur booked her place in the discus throw final. The Punjab athlete has been in impressive form this year as she breached the 65m mark twice recently. Those who touch 64m or at least 12 best performers in the two qualifying rounds advance to the final. Kaur began with a 60.29m effort and then improved it to 63.97m before her third throw of 64m. Perkovic qualified at third and Perez at seventh.īut veteran Seema Punia made an exit after finishing sixth in qualification A and 16th overall with a below-par best throw of 60.57m. The Indian ended ahead of defending gold-medallist Sandra Perkovic (63.75m) of Croatia and reigning world champion Yaime Perez (63.18) of Cuba. The 25-year-old Kaur, competing in qualification B, sent the discus to a distance of 64m in her third and final attempt to be one of the only two automatic qualifiers for the final round, the other being American Valarie Allman (66.42m). She was one of only two athletes, the other being Allman, to throw beyond 64m in the qualification round.Tokyo: Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur produced one of the best performances by an Indian in the Olympics, though in a qualifying round, as she made it to the finals of the ongoing Games after finishing second here on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Kamalpreet had earlier finished second in the qualification round with a throw of exactly 64m, which was the mark required for automatic qualification to the final. She managed to throw a distance of 61.37 in her fifth attempt. Kamalpreet failed to better that throw in her last three attempts as her fourth and sixth throws were fouls. She then delivered under pressure with an effort of 63.70m to secure herself a top eight finish. Kamalpreet needed to better Vita's attempt as the 9th-12th paced competitors are eliminated after the third throw, while the top eight get three more throws. The pressure was on Kamalpreet before her third throw as she had slid to the ninth position after Germany's Claudine Vita registered a throw at 61.80m in her third attempt. Kamalpreet Kaur finished sixth in her maiden appearance at the Olympics. There was almost an hour's delay between her second and third attempt as heavy rain delayed the final. Kamalpreet began confidently in the final with a throw of 61.62m, which was good enough to place her in the top eight competitors. Two-time defending champion Sandra Perkovic finished fourth with a best effort of 65.01m. The bronze went to Cuba's Yaime Perez, the reigning world champion, for a 65.72m throw. Valarie Allman took gold with a throw of 68.98m, while Germany's Kristin Pudenz took silver with a throw of 66.86m. Kamalpreet had a best throw of 63.70m on the third of her six throws in the final.Īnju Bobby George's fifth-place finish in long jump at the Athens Olympics in 2004 remains the best by an Indian in a field event, while Krishna Poonia had also finished sixth in the discus throw in the London Olympics in 2012. Kamalpreet's sixth-placed finish is the second best by an Indian in a field event at the Olympics.
India's Kamalpreet Kaur finished sixth in the final of the women's discus throw at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.