CHENNAI: Through much of the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics, Kamalpreet Kaur has been steadfast in her assertion that she has an outside chance for a medal. Not just that, she has been egging herself on to believing that a target of 69m too is achievable. It is the sort of distance that the formidable Sandra Perkovic, of Croatia, managed in each of the last two Olympics to claim gold in the women’s discus.
Such assertions, though, seem far-fetched and misplaced when they are uttered by an Indian track-and-field athlete. Never mind that Kamalpreet has swiftly risen up the ladder and breached the 65m mark (first Indian woman to do so) twice in the last four months, including a throw of 66.59m at Indian Grand Prix-4 in Patiala in June. A throw in that range in Tokyo would be good enough for a medal in all likelihood, but it is always wise to exercise restraint given Indian athletics’ history on the Olympic stage.
But on Saturday morning, the 25-year-old – from Kabarwala village in Punjab’s Sri Muktsar Sahib district – showed a glimpse to suggest that her confidence is not mere bluster. In a qualification field of 31 athletes split into two groups, she limbered up with a throw of 60.29m in her first attempt. The second was substantially better at 63.97m, just a few inches shy of the direct qualification mark for the final. The third and final throw was 64m. Only United States’ Valarie Allman flung the discus further on Saturday, achieving a distance of 66.42m in her lone attempt. Valarie's best is 70.15m and season's best is 70.01m.
With a grin on her face, Kamalpreet – an imposing figure at 6 ft 1 inch – flexed her right arm for the cameras before pointing to her name that was emblazoned on the front of her jersey. If her competitors did not heed her presence until now, they surely will now.
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) chief Adille Sumariwalla was candid in his assessment. Having crossed the 65m mark previously, Kamalpreet’s performance on Saturday was along expected lines. “It is not a surprise for me. She had done much more in India. This was just qualifying. She will do better in the final. I want my athletes to do as well as they do in India or better than that. That is what I have always maintained,” Sumariwalla told this daily on Saturday. “There is a possibility of Kamalpreet winning a medal. It depends on who throws well on that particular day.”
While the litmus test will be on Monday even as Indians anxiously ponder whether a medal from the discus thrower is now a genuine possibility, the fact that she outdid defending Olympic champion Perkovic (63.75m) and the reigning world champion Yaime Perez (63.18m) in the qualification sets the stage for an intriguing finale. Perkovic, a favourite to win gold, has a season’s best of 68.31m and personal best of 71.41m, while Cuba's Perez has a personal best of 69.39m and season's best of 68.99m.
For Kamalpreet, it is only natural for nerves to jangle over the course of the next 48 hours. If she can achieve a throw in the range of 66-67 m, she could be on the cusp of reaching a place where no Indian track-and-field athlete has ever been. And it has all seemingly happened in a blur. Until the Federation Cup in March, when Kamalpreet – who began with shot put in 2011 before switching to discus throw – broke the national record, she was just another unknown athlete. At the time, she was perturbed by a sense that other athletes were ignoring her.
All that changed after her showing in IGP-4 in the stifling heat of Patiala in June. The mark of 66.59m also made people sit up and take more than just fleeting notice. A good throw in the final on August 2 will ensure she is never ignored again.