Who is India's best discus thrower at the Olympics?

India's Kamalpreet Kaur would be heading into the discus throw finals at the Tokyo Olympics knowing that this could be one of the biggest days of her life. A medal would make her the first-ever Indian athlete to win in athletics at the Olympic Games. She's only the second Indian to ever reach the final round of the discus throw event. All the eyes and hopes of the billions of Indians would be on the Kamalpreet who is still only twenty-five years old.

However, irrespective of whatever happens in the finals Kamalpreet Kaur has already become one of the best, at the Olympics, that the country has produced.

Overtaking Krishna Poonia

Before Kamalpreet Kaur arrived and performed as she did a couple of days ago in Tokyo, India's only memorable moment in the women's discus throw at the Olympics was courtesy of Krishna Poonia. Born in Haryana, Poonia was a part of the 2012 London Olympics where she ended the campaign with a six-placed finish. Poonia's best effort came in her penultimate attempt where she threw a 63.62m, while her second-best effort was 62.42m

On the other hand, Kamalpreet Kaur in the qualification round broke that mark by hitting a 63.97m in her second attempt and then made it even better by hitting the 64m mark in her third and final attempt which ensured a direct qualification to the finals. She was also one of the top two athletes in the qualification stages.

Tough challenge in the finals but there's still hope

While Kamalpreet Kaur may have gone ahead of Krishan Poonia's effort, the competition in the finals is gonna be a real tough one as four of her competitors have the season's bests better than her. However, Kamalpreet has shown that she has the potential to make a big impact. This was evident from the fact when she recorded an effort of 66.59m at the Indian Grand Prix-4 in June at the NIS, Patiala.

Also if we look at the previous two Olympic Games, then there's a lot of hope for the 25-year-old. In the 2012 London Olympics, the bronze medal was won with an effort of 66.38m by Yarelys Barrios, whereas in the 2016 Rio Olympics it was Denia Caballero with a throw of 65.34m.

If Kamalpreet Kaur manages to improve or even match her personal best effort of 66.59m, she would surely put herself in a great position to win a medal.