Kamalpreet Kaur qualifies for Tokyo Olympics Discus Throw finals

Kaur hit a distance of 64m to earn second position in Group B.

The Women’s Discus Throw Qualification rounds took place Saturday at the Tokyo Olympics. 25-year-old Kamalpreet Kaur won Indian hearts in the morning with a stunning performance.

India hasn’t had success in athletics at the Olympics for the longest time now. Norman Pritchard was the last Indian to have won a medal in athletics back in 1900. So, for an Indian to perform even remotely well is considered as an achievement and a cause for celebration. Kamalpreet Kaur has brought us exactly that.

The athlete from Patiala, Punjab has given a lot of hope to Indians on a day where several results have already gone against them. Given Atanu Das and Amit Panghal’s departures earlier the same day, Kaur’s performances could not have come at a better time to boost the morale of the Indian contingent.

Moreover, what is more impressive about Kaur’s achievement is not the mere fact that she has qualified from a group of 12 to the Discuss throw finals on 2nd August but the manner in which she achieved the feat.

The 25-year-old was one of two athletes to attain direct qualification to the finals by virtue of clearing the 64.0m mark. She's the first Indian discus thrower in the history of Olympics to have breached the qualification mark. Amongst both groups, Kaur finished in second place overall. In fact, she finished ahead of current world No. 1 Yaime Perez and two-time Olympic gold medalist Sandra Perkovic.

Kamalpreet Kaur enters the finals with a lot of promise. Earlier this year, she set a new national record with a 66.59m throw – the sixth best throw in the world. Her performance at the Olympic Games qualifiers shows that her throw earlier this year was no fluke. The Punjab-born discus thrower is more than capable of replicating such achievements on the biggest stage.

Meanwhile, four-time Olympian Seema Punia is out of contention for the finals as her best throw of 60.57m did not make the cut. It has been nine years since Krishna Punia’s impressive sixth-placed finish in the discus throw finals at the London Olympics. Today, the promising Kamalpreet Kaur has the chance to not only replicate that feat, but improve upon it. If numbers from this year are anything to go by, Kaur has a very good chance of achieving the unthinkable and causing a massive upset in the discuss throw event at the Tokyo Olympics.

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