Tokyo Olympics: Kamalpreet Kaur finishes sixth in Women's Discus Throw Final

Kamalpreet Kaur of India finished sixth in the Final of the Women's Discus Throw at the Tokyo Olympics. She had been drawn alongside 11 other athletes who had made it to the final of the event.

Kaur got off the mark with a throw of 61.62 on her very first attempt. She was sixth after the first round with USA's Valarie Allman taking an almost unassailable lead with a magnificent throw of 68.98 on her first attempt. She would go on to win the gold medal with that throw!

Kamalpreet Kaur then faltered during her second throw and ended up being red-flagged. Controversy took over when drops of rain greeted the athletes on the field and soon started pouring heavily. Several athletes including Lilian CA, Valarie Allman, and Yang Chen slipped following which the event got postponed.

Heading into the third attempt once the rain had stopped, Kamalpreet Kaur was under pressure greater than the depths of Mariana Trench. She was placed ninth, just behind Claudine Vita, and was at the risk of being eliminated. However, just like a typical movie anti-climax, she summoned all her strength and wits to produce a best of 63.70 dramatically and secured further progress. Kamalpreet was also ranked sixth by the time the final round ended.

Kamalpreet Kaur saw the red flag once again in her first throw of Round 2 (fourth overall) after she lost balance and her foot touched the top half of the circle. In her fifth throw of the night, the 25-year-old got a nice flight on her implement but not enough power and was unable to eclipse her 63.7 throw.

Needing a throw greater than 65.72 to get into the podium positions and break India's athletics jinx at the Olympics, Kamalpreet Kaur had immense pressure riding on her shoulders for the second time in the night. This time, she crumbled and her Olympic dream ended with a sixth-placed finish.

There's nothing to be ashamed of when you finish among the top six in your sport in the world and the athletes ahead of you comprise a double Olympic champion, the ruthless Valarie Allman, and the World Number 1 among others.

India can be extremely proud of the 25-year-old who will be back once again. If everything goes well, her roar will conquer the Games the next time.