BENGALURU: It has been around seven to eight weeks since Kamalpreet Kaur returned to India after finishing a creditable sixth in the the women's discus throw at the Tokyo Olympics. The Punjabi girl spent most of her time recovering from knee and shoulder injury besides attending felicitation programs. Now, she is feeling a lot better and is itching to resume her training this month and the athlete has some methods already in place too. With big ticket events, including World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games scheduled next year, she knows 2022 is a big year.
Kamalpreet, currently ranked world number 11, is keen to practice in wet conditions too when she starts her training. The athlete has taken this conscious decision after her performance in Tokyo, where it rained during her event, impacting her performance, she claimed. The 25-year-old wants to make the throwing circle wet and launch the discus during practice and ensure she is well prepared if there is rain in future competitions.
"I have decided that when I train, I will also practice in wet conditions -- try to put water inside the throwing circle (make it wet) and attempt my throws. When there is rain, the circles become wet and there is less grip on the circle and the legs will not be able to balance well and it might be slippery too. As a result, you will not be able to generate the speed and power, which is required in a throw. This kind of practice should help me in my future competitions if there is rain. Even in Tokyo, due to rain, the circle was slippery and was not able to generate power," Kamalpreet, who is in the city alongside other athletes to attend a GoSports Foundation felicitation event, told this daily.
Though Kamalpreet failed to win a medal, she did exceed expectations. Reaching the finals of her event as the second best thrower in the qualifications with 64.00m in Tokyo was no mean feat, considering it was her first major event. She has also learned a lot from her maiden Olympics appearance, and wants to do well in the major competitions that have been lined up starting with Worlds in July in the United States. However, she is aware of the need to improve in various departments of her game in order to compete against the best of the best in the business.
“I have got great experience from such a mega competition like the Olympics. It will help me when I participate in the near future,” she said. “Basically, I also want to improve upon my balance, speed work and technique in the coming months. If there is anything that we lack compared to athletes from stronger countries, it is the technique, which they have is very sound. I have to work on these things.”