Tokyo: Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur etched her name in the history books as she entered the final of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, while her compatriot Seema Punia finished sixth after a foul. The qualifying round of women’s discus throw was held today at the Tokyo Olympics. Seema Punia and Kamalpreet Kaur represented India. Throwing a discus over 64 meters in the qualifying round can qualify directly for the final. Otherwise, the top 12 finishers will qualify for the final.
India’s Kamalpreet Kaur participated in the Group B qualifying round. The Indian discus thrower covered a distance of 60.29 meters in his first chance. Kamalpreet, who then excelled in the second chance, threw the discus from 63.97 metres. In his third chance, he threw 64.00 meters and qualified directly for the final. The final will be on August 2 at 5.30 pm.
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On the other hand, Seema Punia was the first to participate in Group A. He fouled on his first chance. In the second chance, he threw the discus at a distance of 60.57 metres. He then covered a distance of 58.93 meters in the third innings. Thus he got the sixth position in that group category.
Earlier in the day, India’s Avinash Chappell took part in the 3000m steeplechase on the first day of the athletics meet. He finished the race with 8.18.12. Also set a new national record. He broke his previous national record of 8.20.20 and set a new record. In addition, India’s MP Jabir competed in the 400m hurdles, where he finished 7th with a time of 50.77. MP Jabir has been eliminated from the first round after finishing last in his heat round. He missed the chance to go to the semi-finals.
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