25-year-old Indian discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur won hearts and set records on Saturday, securing herself a place in the final at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The first Indian woman to have cross the 65m mark and against whose name the national record stands at 65.06, breached the direct qualification mark of 64m on Saturday in her third attempt to make it to the medal round.
While Asian Games gold medallist Seema Punia bowed out with a 16th-place finish in the qualifying stages on Saturday, Kaur became one of only two two throwers who breached the 64m mark at the Olympic Stadium in the qualifying round. With just two athletes managing to cross the direct qualification mark, the other 10 throwers who qualified for the final were selected on the basis of their best attempts.
India (post independence) has never won an Olympic medal in the Athletics category. And as thousands take to social media platforms to cheer, the consensus appears to be clear: She is the person to watch out for on August 2.
"Kamalpreet Kaur has qualified for Women’s Discus Throw finals at Tokyo 2020. India has never won an Olympic Medal in Athletics. All our athletes are trying their best. But I'm looking for history from three athletes. Watch out for Kamalpreet Kaur on 2nd August. #Cheer4India" tweeted Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.
"Amazing performance! Many many congratulations and best wishes for the final," exulted Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
"I had attempted discuss and javelin in high-school and I must have thrown 2 mtrs and felt my achievement. All the best Kamalpreet. Go for the gold," remarked one Twitter user.
"This is SO damn good, been watching it on loop. Congratulations Kamalpreet," remarked another, referring to the video of her throw.
Take a look at some of the other posts:
(with inputs from agencies)
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