Athletics
Tokyo Olympics: Kamalpreet Kaur storms into the Discus Throw final
India's Kamalpreet Kaur was only the second athlete to breach the qualification mark for the final of Women's Discus Throw
Kamalpreet Kaur of India finished second in the overall heats of the Women's Discus Throw at the Tokyo Olympics. She had been drawn in Group B and ended up recording a best distance of 64m on her third and final attempt. The qualifying distance was 64M and Kamalpreet clinched it on her final attempt.
The 25-year-old was seeded alongside 15 other athletes in Group B of the Women's Discus Throw Heat on the second day of Athletics at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kaur got off the mark with a throw of 60.29 on her very first attempt. She was sixth in Group B after the first round.
Kamalpreet Kaur then dazzled the crème-de-la-crème of the group with a fantastic 63.97m throw in her second attempt to pull herself back into the second position in the group! Kamalpreet's throw meant that she had already eclipsed the defending Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic who had recorded 63.75 in Group A.
Her third attempt in the Heat where she finally cracked the 64m mark meant that she was the only athlete besides Valarie Allman of USA to breach the qualification target in the Heats!
Seema Punia, also representing India, missed out on qualification for the final after finishing 16th.
After what has been a disappointing start to the day from India's perspective, Kamalpreet's performance has surely jolted and woken the nation up. Not only has she qualified for the final with ease, Kamalpreet has also announced her intent on winning the medal in the final. All we can do is wait and hope.
The final of Women's Discus Throw will be held on August 2.