Update On Aug 3 12: 53 pm ist BundelkhnadTimes
India’s Kamalpreet Kaur finished sixth in women’s discus throw at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. America’s Valarie Allman won gold with her first round throw of 68.98m.
As a little girl, American Valarie Allman was a very good dancer and she excelled in ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary dance. Impressed with her height and coordination, her high school coach advised her to take up athletics. She attempted the sprints and high jump and came to discus throw by accident, trying the event with an eye on the throwers’ annual spaghetti dinner.
Allman danced her way to the discus throw gold with an opening-round effort of 68.98m that left the others fighting for minor medals at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.
Indian hearts were wildly dancing too but in the end, Kamalpreet Kaur – who had raised hopes of bringing the country’s first-ever Olympic medal in athletics – finished sixth with a third-round 63.70m on a rainy night which left the throwing circle slippery midway through and the throwers were given a short break.
On to Neeraj now
Kamalpreet’s national record 66.59m, which came in the Indian GP in June, would have fetched her the bronze. But that was not to be and the country will now be hoping that javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who begins his campaign on August 4, ends the long wait.
The 25-year-old Kamalpreet’s other two legal throws were 61.62 and 61.37. The Punjab athlete’s performance equalled Krishna Poonia’s sixth place at the 2012 Olympics, the best by an Indian discus thrower.
German Kristin Pudenz (66.86m) and Cuba’s World champion Yaime Perez (65.72) took the silver and bronze.