CWG bronze girl returns, gets rousing welcome

AMRITSAR: Navjeet Kaur Dhillon of the city, who won a bronze medal in the discus throw event at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast, was given a rousing welcome by sports officials, sports lovers and her family members upon her arrival at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport on Wednesday.

Discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon along with her family at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. photo: Sunil kumar

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 18

Navjeet Kaur Dhillon of the city, who won a bronze medal in the discus throw event at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast, was given a rousing welcome by sports officials, sports lovers and her family members upon her arrival at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport on Wednesday.

Seated in an open Jeep, she went for a thanksgiving visit to the Golden Temple. Vehicles were pasted with slogans in Punjabi ‘Punjab di es dhi te maan” (Proud of this daughter of Punjab).

She managed to win a bronze with her final 57.43-m throw in Gold Coast. At the World Junior Championships in the US in 2014, as a 19-year-old she had flung the discus to a distance of 56.36 metre, becoming the second Indian to clinch a medal at the World Junior Championship. Before her, Seema Antil had won it in the 2002 edition of the event.

She has been constantly improving her throw. Her first major success came in the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2011 where she won a bronze medal with 45.27-m throw. She also took part in the senior category of Asian Grand Prix in 2013 and was placed seventh in the Asian Championships at Pune. Navjeet had set a new national junior record in shot put (15.89m) in the Junior Federation Cup in 2014.

Her objective is to play in the Olympics and done the Indian colours.

Residing at Rani Ka Bagh area, the Dhillon family is upbeat over the success of Navjeet. Her father Jaspal Singh Dhillon, a former international shot put player, mother Kuldeep Kaur, a former international hockey player, and brother Jasdeep Singh, a national shot put player, are elated at Navjeet’s feat.

Jaspal, who won a silver medal in the 1985 SAF Games, groomed and coached her to help her achieve her goal.

Her mother Kuldeep Kaur, who was part of the Indian women hockey team that won a silver medal in the 1986 Asian Games, said both her children Navjeet and her brother Jasdeep adopted individual games as one could display his or her full strength in such games only.