Kamalpreet Kaur 5th athlete from Punjab to enter Olympics final

Karam Prakash & Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Patiala/Lambi, July 31

Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur has become the fifth athlete from Punjab to qualify for the final of an athletics event at the Olympics with a throw of 64 metre today.

Gurbachan Singh Randhawa had finished fifth in the 110m hurdles’ final at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, four years after Flying Sikh Milkha Singh reached the final and finished fourth in 400m. Rajwinder Kaur and Manjit Kaur, as part of the 4×400 m relay team, had reached the final of the 2000 games.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Kamalpreet said she would give it her best shot in the final. “I was a bit nervous in the qualifying rounds since this is my first Olympics,” she admitted. Her father Kuldeep Singh, a marginal farmer, said: “I am overwhelmed. I spoke to her over the phone and congratulated her. I am sure she will make the country proud in the final on August 2.”

“Kamalpreet once got the fourth position at the state level. After her Class X, she developed keen interest in sports. We visited the SAI’s centre at Badal village, but by that time the trials were over. On our request, she was allowed to play. She started practising shot put before switching to discus throw,” he said.